#it doesn't try to be spooky which is how you know the people that made it have sense | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

illusoryfem · 2 years

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true crime documentaries that make terrible criminals seem like Epic Comic Book Villains are fucking trash. If you think the psychopath you’re talking about would get a kick out of watching your shit show you’ve done it wrong and should get beat

#mel chirps #i just finished watching the doc about the yorkshire ripper on netflix and that's a good one it's respectful and focuses on the victims #it's about suttcliffe's crimes but at no point it's about him it's very firm about how the women he hurt as well as the feminist movement #at the time deserve more of a spotlight than him as an individual #it doesn't try to be spooky which is how you know the people that made it have sense #then i think 'ok that was interesting i'l see another doc' and 13 minutes into the one about the night stalker i already wanna die

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avelera · 1 year

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Was thinking about how Hob and Dream could both be insufferable in some way because, in fairness, Hob comes across as someone who could make friends with bread if left in a room with it long enough.

Then I had a thought:

What if Hob Gadling is just super fucking insufferable to other immortals?

See, Dream is... difficult for mortals to get because he's got his whole eldritch thing going on. But while he's not particularly popular with them, I imagine other immortals at least get and respect his whole deal. Like, he's the Dreamlord. Of course he's weird. But they understand the laws and principles he's referring to at least when he's being weird. He seems to at least have a pleasant relationship with the Faerie Court. It's mortals who can't really connect with Dream and find him exasperating as a result.

Whereas Hob gets along great with mortals, just swell. He's Just A Guy who happens to live forever and people get along with him. But immortals? We don't really see it much but immortals positively loathe this guy.

Dream's reaction to the whole, "I've made up my mind, I've decided not to die!"? Hob tossed out in 1389? That's the teeth-grinding level of irritation Hob engenders in every immortal he comes across (before they have centuries to get to know him) and it is exactly why Death just had to make this man immortal because it would be hilarious.

Why doesn't Hob hang out with other immortals besides Dream? Because the minute he opens his mouth about how great life is and how he's never had even a moment's doubt about how much he wants to live, every immortal in the room starts to make the gagging motion.

You're an immortal just trying to have a bit of a kvetch about Kids These Days and how much times have changed and how it was better in your day, and there's Hob fucking Gadling again ready to throw down about how amazing antibiotics and automobiles and the latest iPhone number whatever are and like, sure, but you were just trying to say back in your day things were better, right? Not objectively maybe but you're just trying to indulge in a bit of immortal nostalgia and Hob fucking Gadling is not having any of it and is ready to argue you into the dirt about it.

You're immortal but haven't quite kept up on today's slang? Hob Gadling will absolutely call you out and he's a teacher now so he's going to be super nice about it but you know he's judging you for saying groovy unironically and thinks you should get with the times already.

You're a vampire living off centuries of generational wealth? Hob keeps talking about how you should get a job and get out of the spooky mansion more, and maybe you wouldn't feel so much existential angst. You like your existential angst!

Hob doesn't have a single ounce of patience for immortals who want to wax poetic about wishing they were mortal again. Diseases, he says, have you ever had diseases? Like even a cold? It sucks. It really fucking sucks. The Plague? The fucking worst. You don't need to be mortal to get involved in mortal life, Hob fucking Gadling keeps pointing out at the monthly eldritch coffee meetups. You can just live as a mortal and share in their problems and enjoy the fact you don't have to deal with the shit parts like getting sick. Completely missing the point of the futile lamentation of regretting one's lost mortality is something you enjoy.

Hob harshes the vibe of every single immortal out there. They are so goddamn sick of him. There's a reason he has no apparent immortal friends or connections to the supernatural world despite (in the comics) seeming to have met other immortals and having the occasional supernatural encounter that he immediately brushes off as dull when compared to what the normal, every day world has to offer.

No other immortal can fucking figure out what Dream of the Endless sees in this guy, and how he can stand to talk to him even once a century without storming off (which, in fairness, Dream has done on 2/7 occasions). Dream, not otherwise known for his patience, is seen as a saint in the eldritch community for even spending as much time as he has over the course of 600+ years with Hob fucking Gadling.

#hob gadling #the sandman #sandman meta #dreamling

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ecoamerica · 1 month

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stardustpr1ncess · 2 months

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Bonzle is 100% without a shadow of a doubt a trans allegory. People have been trying their best to say Sora isn't transcoded, but Bonzle is 2 scenes away from looking at the camera and saying "Hello. I'm a trans allegory." I shall now go into detail on every piece of evidence for this claim because fuck you.

EPISODE 5: Bonzle is afraid of how her found family will react to learning she's a spell (trans) and worries she will be rejected because of it. Easy parallel to trans people being afraid of revealing they're trans post transition. There's also her conversation with Bitch Boy Master Wu, with her saying she feels great loneliness, and only after gaining a physical form (transitioning) she feels happy and her true self. Very common trans experience. Gonna also put all of the quotes for my evidence as well since I know there's transphobes (filth) that like Ninjago and will be scrambling to deny it when people start coming to this conclusion too.

"Bonzle: I-- I was afraid of what you'd think if you knew about my past... Wu: It's called loneliness... Bonzle: I feel like, for the first time ever, I've become who I was destined to be... Bonzle: I was afraid if you found out I wasn't a real person, you wouldn't want me to be in our family anymore."

EPISODE 6: Bonzle is apprehensive about meeting with Gandalaria, seeing as how she's only known Bonzle as a spell, aka pre transition. She worries if she will respect her identity, much like how actual trans people fear how their family, more specifically a parental figure, would react. Bit of a light episode but an important aspect, here's the quotes;

"Bonzle: The Sorceress. She only knows me as a spell. What if she doesn't believe in me as a real person?"

EPISODE 7: This episode is the sauce. Bonzle is reunited with Gandalaria and their conversation is nothing short of magical. Gandalaria immediately recognizes Bonzle, saying she was her greatest creation and had always hoped she'd come home, shattering Bonzle's fears. It's a fantastic contrast, showing how this interaction can go well for some people, while others get an interaction much more akin to Sora's parents. When she's informed of Bonzle's chosen name, Gandalaria immediately starts using it, saying it's a great name. However, for that juicy authenticity, Gandalaria accidentally says spell before quickly correcting herself saying Bonzle. IT'S LITERALLY SO FUCKING OBVIOUS BONZLE'S BONES MIGHT AS WELL BE BLUE PINK AND WHITE. Oh yeah, here's the paragraph of quotes;

"Gandalaria: It's you! My dearest! You've come home! Bonzle: You... You recognize me? Even in my boney physical form? Gandalaria: Oh, I would know your true essence anywhere. Bonzle: I was so afraid you wouldn't accept me for who I am now. Gandalaria Are you kidding? I put my heart, my soul into every spell I weave... The most complex spell I've ever woven, and the first of my creations to ever come back to me!.. Bonzle: I'm Bonzle. That's the name I chose when I became a person. Gandalaria: Well, that's a splendid name... If this Ras times it right, he could reverse the power spell-- uh, Bonzle here--."

EPISODE 9: This episodes importance comes from Jordana, who acts EXACTLY how transphobes do. She constantly calls her a spell (some sort of derogatory term), says she's playing person (like pretending to be a girl), and says she's helping her do what she was made for, like transphobes very creepy beliefs in reproduction. Literally you half expect Jordana to ask which bathroom Bonzle uses since she was a spell. THE QUOTES;

"Jordana: Settle down, spell. I don't know what you think you've been doing, playing person with your fake family, but I know your true purpose... You should thank us. We're helping you to do what you were created to do."

In conclusion the silly lego skeleton girl is one of them spooky transgenders. Lmk if there's anything I missed. Thank you for reading.

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago dragons rising #lego ninjago dragons rising #dragons rising #dragons rising season 2 #ninjago spoilers #dragons rising spoilers #ninjago bonzle #ninjago Gandalaria #ninjago sora

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vergess · 9 days

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Please, please explain how to install and use linux like I'm 5 years old. I'm so sick of windows adding AI and other bullshit to my already struggling elderly laptop but I'm really not good with computers at all so I have no idea where to start with Linux.

Okay, so, I'm going to break this down into steps I would give the average tumblr user first, and then if any of them are confusing or use words you don't understand, ask me and I'll explain that step in greater detail.

Step 0) BACK. UP. YOUR. SHIT.

NEVER EVER EVER CHANGE YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM WITHOUT A COMPLETE BACKUP OF ALL YOUR FILES.

Step 1) Learn your machine. You need to know:

How much RAM you have

If your processor is 32 or 64 bit

How big your hard drive is

On windows, you can find out all of this by going to the start menu, typing "about" and opening the first result on your system instead of the internet.

For additional instructions, visit this page.

Step 2) Pick your Linux.

There's like 10,000 kinds of Linux, each tailored to particular functions that the end-user (that is you!) might want to have. The sheer amount is very daunting, so first I'm going to give my suggestions, then I'll explain how to pick for yourself.

For Mac users, I suggest Kubuntu. For windows users, I suggest Mint Cinnamon. If your laptop is really REALLY old, I recommend Sparky Stable, which is the lightest weight Linux I would ever suggest for a new user. In every case, download the version suited to your processor (32 bit can be labelled "x86" or "32 bit"; 64 bit is always labelled "64 bit").

If you want to try a different type of linux, you'll need to make sure your laptop meets the "minimum specs" or "system requirements." These numbers tell you how much RAM, processor and hard drive space the linux will use. (That's why you needed those numbers at the beginning.)

Step 3) Collect your supplies. You're going to need:

An ISO burning program compatible with your current system, like Balena Etcher.

A copy of the ISO file for the Linux you want to use.

Your laptop.

An 8gb or larger USB flash drive.

Step 3) Make a bootable USB drive

Install Balena Etcher, hitting "okay" and "next" when prompted. Last I checked, Etcher doesn't have adware attached, so you can just hit next every time.

Plug your USB drive into the laptop.

Open Etcher.

Click "flash from file" and open the ISO file with your Linux on it.

Click "Select target" and open the USB drive location. Hit the "flash" button. This will start writing all the linux installer data to your flash drive. Depending on the speed of your machine, this could take as long as 10 minutes, but shouldn't be much longer.

Step 4) Boot to the USB drive

This is, in my opinion, the trickiest step for a lot of people who don't do "computer stuff." Fortunately, in a rare act of good will, Windows 10 made this process a lot easier.

All you'll need to do is go to settings, then recovery, then advanced startup and pick the button labelled "use a device."

This tutorial has images showing where each of those is located. It's considered an "advanced setting" so you may get a spooky popup warning you that you could "harm your system by making changes" but we're not doing anything potentially harmful so you can ignore that if you get it.

Step 5) Try out linux on the flash drive first.

Linux installs using a cool little test version of itself that you can play around in. You won't be able to make changes or save settings, but you can explore a bit and see if the interface is to your liking. If it's hideous or hard to navigate, simply pick a new linux version to download, and repeat the "make a bootable USB" step for it.

Step 6) Actually install that sucker

This step varies from version to version, but the first part should be the same across the board: on the desktop, there should be a shortcut that says something like "install now." Double click it.

Follow the instructions your specific linux version gives you. When in doubt, pick the default, with one exception:

If it asks you to encrypt your drive say no. That's a more advanced feature that can really fuck your shit up down the road if you don't know how to handle it.

At some point you're going to get a scary looking warning that says 1 of 2 things. Either:

Install Linux alongside Windows, or

Format harddrive to delete all data

That first option will let you do what is called "dual booting." From then on, your computer will ask every time you turn it on whether you want Windows or Linux.

The second option will nuke Windows from orbit, leaving only linux behind.

The install process is slower the larger your chosen version is, but I've never seen it take more than half an hour. During that time, most linux versions will have a little slideshow of the features and layout of common settings that you can read or ignore as you prefer.

Step 7) Boot to your sexy new Linux device.

If you're dual booting, use the arrow keys and enter key to select your linux version from the new boot menu, called GRUB.

If you've only got linux, turn the computer on as normal and linux will boot up immediately.

Bonus Step: Copy Pasting some code

In your new start menu, look for an application called "terminal" or "terminal emulator." Open that up, and you will be presented with an intense looking (but actually very harmless) text command area.

Now, open up your web browser (firefox comes pre-installed on most!), and search the phrase "what to do after installing [linux version you picked]"

You're looking for a website called "It's FOSS." Here's a link to their page on Mint. This site has lots and lots of snippets of little text commands you can experiment with to learn how that functionality works!

Or, if you don't want to fuck with the terminal at all (fair enough!) then instead of "terminal" look for something called "software manager."

This is sort of like an app store for linux; you can install all kinds of programs directly from there without needing to go to the website of the program itself!

#Asks #Answered asks #octopusdreamsofaquaticsheep

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mediumgayitalian · 2 months

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What are some of your Will headcanons?

Any angsty ones?

hair style:

will's hair has a Mind Of Its Own. it is impossible. brushing it? keep dreaming. styling it? dude just give up

he can, however, wrangle it into two french braid pigtails. those are fun.

in the august after the giant war, the aphrodite cabin take it upon themselves to 'style' nico, including giving him these little elastics with a skull charm (like this but with skulls), but he doesn't like tying his hair back very much (too tight) so he gives them to will as a joke.

will LOVES them.

he literally wears them almost every day. the next time they go out on a supply run, nico sees these little elastic charms and buys them for will. he can't summon the courage to give them to him face to face but he leaves them on his bed. will adores them, too, and it starts something of a tradition of people giving will charm elastics as a small thank-you.

he has a collection of them and wears them whenever he wears his hair in braids.

his favourites are the skull charms, though.

artistic ability:

will really doesn't have many musical talents. he's hard of hearing and while hephaestus-made hearing aids definitely work better than mortal ones, it's not really something that can be cured, so he has a lot of trouble staying on key/making music himself.

however! apollo is the god of poetry and art in general -- that is more than just visual!!

will is a really good writer, poetry especially. he's very articulate and verbose and writes with startling clarity. he's written a lot of songs and a lot of poems, although he hasn't shown anybody in years.

he used to share them with his older brothers and sisters and sibling, but...well. obviously that's no longer an option.

he's never stopped writing, though. he may keep it to himself, but it's kind of an open secret. he's scribbling in his notebooks all the time -- it's impossible not to notice.

his friends and siblings, however, are the only ones who know that he writes creatively. they've peeked over his shoulder here and there (and also kayla is a huge huge snoop, like, badly, and austin is easily convinced to be complacent in her crimes), and sometimes he says things that are just kind of poetic.

no one else knows, though. he's deliberately obnoxious about it -- every once in a while, at campfire open mics, he'll clear his throat loudly and grin as people groan and recite something so bad apollo might have written it. most people think will's quite bad at writing, actually.

another thing he's really good at is drama, which is a surprise to absolutely no one. although beyond his regular histrionics, chiron had shakespeare as part of his curriculum, and will could play puck like nobody's business. he recited a mercutio so good once lee actually cried with laughter (so did everyone else). on a hauntingly beautiful february in 2004, he played ophelia by the creek so beautifully that it was silent for a good four minutes after he finished.

there are very, very few people at camp who remember that. will hasn't recited anything in a while.

an unexpected bonus of his medical knowledge, actually, is a really good understanding of depth, space, and anatomy.

he's a surprisingly good artist.

it started pretty normal -- he was having trouble articulating a question to michael one time, and in a fit of frustration drew a diagram to try and explain himself. it was really good, even as rushed as it was, so michael used to give him 'homework' that was hand-drawing posters of various body systems to hang in the infirmary.

it was kind of spooky how will could do it without looking it up. just close his eyes and start sketching an accurate nervous system. cool though.

his older sister, cass, encouraged him to branch out of anatomy diagrams and create whatever he liked. she made the unfortunate mistake of giving him several cans of paint and free reigns on blank infirmary walls (they're freaky and boring) to a nerdy eight-year-old -- that's why r2d2 and c3po are chilling on the wall by the mortal medicine cabinet.

he doesn't paint a lot now, 'cause he doesn't have the damn time, but when rachel finds out who painted the infirmary walls she hounds him until he takes a morning to paint with her. they have a lot of fun. they end up with more paint on each other and their clothes than their canvases, predictably.

siblings:

when will was a kid, he had twelve older siblings.

apollo tends to have kids in brackets. he is, as everyone knows, a hoe, so he'll be busy on olympus or with artemis and go a while without having any kids, and then he'll be on earth for like three years and have a litter. so a lot of his kids end up the same age.

before the war, in the same cabin, there was: cass, the oldest, 18, somewhat year-long; diana, 18, year-long; lee, 16, somewhat year-long; michael, 16, somewhat year-long; gabriel, 15, summer-only; leanna, 15, summer-only; mercury, 15, summer-only; kate & phoebe, 14, summer-only; laurel, 13, summer-only; amir, 13, summer-only; melody, 12, summer-only; and will, 8, year-long (for now).

their abilites were pretty vast and well-rounded, and they came from all over the continent.

there was a time when the infirmary wasn't understaffed at all.

will doesn't like to think about it.

style:

on their birthdays, apollo leaves them all a gift on their bunks (or their beds at home, if their birthdays aren't in the summer).

each of them gets a piece of blessed gold jewelry when they're ten. will got a pair of threader earrings with thin blue sapphires that he loves. he can't wear them often because they're a genuine hazard in the infirmary (yes, more than flip-flops) and he doesn't want them ruined. but he wears them on the rare days he has off.

he actually has quite a lot of jewelry! because he is a sappy nerd, he has two watches: a hephaestus-made one, totally waterproof, weatherproof, and monsterproof, because it helps quell the anxiety when so many people are counting on him (he has to know when people will be better and how long he can be away from his patients, also used to tell people to fuck off when he's on break lol); and his mother's much nicer watch that she gave to him when she dropped him off at camp for the first time -- it's not changed for the time zone. he knows what time it is for her, and it makes him feel better about being so far away from her.

he wears both watches on the same wrist, ala chad danforth.

he has a third watch. it was lee's. it's got r2d2 on the face. will got it for him with his own money when he was nine years old, for his birthday. it lives in a box under his bunk. it's cracked and broken and never tells the right time except on 1:52 p.m. on june 30th, although the year gets farther and farther off every time will checks it.

contrary to popular belief, will does not actually wear the same pair of cargo shorts every day.

...because he has seven pairs of the same shorts.

he does have other shorts through. namely swim trunks and a pair of tighter shorts he wears specifically to kick ass in volleyball. he didn't try for this or anything, he got the shorts at the thrift store, but he's pretty sure they might be designer. he gets a lot of compliments from the aphrodite cabin when he wears them.

he also has a collection of nerdy t-shirts (his anakin sand-rant t-shirt is worn to threads), novelty pajama pants, hoodies, and flannel.

he has more than one tattoo. he has several, actually; constellations, lines from freckle to freckle so faint you can barely see them: the seer, the drummer, the archer, the tiny lion, the archangel, the maiden, the lyre, the twins, the boat stern, the hearth, and the singer.

just plain will:

he's slightly red-green colourblind.

when he gets mad, his cheeks puff up and he gets all red in the face before erupting. his older siblings used to call him tinkerbell.

he gets teased for being so dramatic that he was named for the most dramatic apollo kid who ever lived -- shakespeare. but his actual, legal name is just plain will solace. when pregnant, his mom used to mutter 'it's you, me, and sheer fucking force of will, baby' to herself a lot, as a kind of mantra, and then will was born and she thought it would be kind of funny to name him will (she was right). lee invented william andrew solace so he'd have something to yell when will got in trouble lol.

he has the climbing wall record. this is because he climbs a lot of trees. he has no explanation and no one is going to stop him.

when he was a kid, and the whole mythology thing was explained to him, he misnderstood michael's explanation of food sacrifice as one to be done to all theoi/mythical beings. he worked his way to praying through the entire pantheon, a horde of minor gods, hestia, chiron, argus, and half the nymphs before someone caught wind and explained to him properly. it is the main reason all the nymphs and dryads are so endeared by him. he used to go around asking their names and very seriously writing it down in his little notebook to pray to them properly.

he carries around notebooks constantly. at first, diana gave them to him because he was driving everyone bonkers with his endless questions and she needed Five Minutes, Will, Gods, Please of silence, but he really took to it and wrote everything in there. he keeps them all as a sort of diary. kayla reads them any time he has his back turned.

it is really, really hard for him to talk about his siblings. but he knows kayla and austin feel kind of left out and hurt about it, since they didn't get the chance to know them like will did (the kids never met them), so sometimes, late at night, he calls them softly over to his bunk and they curl up, one under each arm, and he tells them stories until his voice goes hoarse and they're long asleep.

#i have so many fucking more but i have to stop because i actually want to write some of these so bad #dude.....the LORE this ask inspired i have pages and pages #why did no one tell me how fun and also heartbreaking it is to invent characters #will solace #will solace headcanon #will solace angst #ask #longpost #headcanon #pjo headcanon #my writing #solangelo

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goatcheesecak3 · 7 months

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Halloween headcanons 🎃🦇🕸🕷

Going thru a few of devon's characters and guessing what they'd be getting up to on Halloween

#1 Adam

He's most likely taking you to some frat party, nothing too special, but he does dress up - well kinda. He puts a little fake blood around his mouth, says he's a vampire and calls it a day. Halloween is more about the parties than the spooks for him.

#2 Freddy Klein

Halloween is a business opportunity for him, knowing that parents are gonna be taking their kids trick or treating, he organises a few spooky games and refreshment to try and get their attention to the dealership. You help the kids play games like bobbing for apples, while Freddy tries to sell cars to their parents. Once the night is over, the two of you celebrate some successful sales wrapped up on the sofa with a couple of beers.

#3 Casper Galloway

Casper HATES Halloween, he's a big scaredy cat. Even the doorbell ringing from trick or treaters makes him jump out of his skin. He's still pretty freaked out from the whole zemon thing, so you go out of your way to distract him on Halloween. You order a pizza and snuggle up in bed to watch anything other than a horror film - he usually picks a rom com because let's face it, this man is a huuuuge softie.

#4 Mike (rip picture quality)

You and Mike go to great lengths to make Halloween fun for Angel. You carve pumpkins together, make her a little boo basket and take her trick or treating. You let her stay up an hour past her bed time on Halloween, so she can watch a spooky film for kids, like monster House. Once she's been put to bed, you and Mike split a bottle of wine while watching a classic horror film and fall asleep on the sofa together.

#5 Dean Taylor

According to Dean, Halloween is just an excuse to go out and raise hell without getting in trouble. He's been known to graffiti people's houses, set people's bins on fire and even mug drunk party goers. He's kinda an ass.

Where are you while all this is going on? You're at home none the wiser, waiting for him to get back so you can watch a movie together. You're under the impression that he's just out getting some snacks.. but now he's been gone an hour and you're pretty sure the store is closed by now.. oh, never mind, he just got back. He always seems to show up juuuust when you start to worry.

#Rodrick Heffley (yeah i made you wait until the very end, I know that's who you came here for)

He's throwing a rager, and you better believe he's gone all out with his costume. He's painted his face to look like a skeleton and ordered a cheap robe off amazon so he can go as the grim reaper. He usually gets pretty drunk at parties, but on Halloween, every time without a doubt, he gets absolutely wasted. It ends up being your job to carry him up to bed and try to wipe his face paint off him so he doesn't ruin his bedsheets. He ends up getting very clingy and insists that you stay and cuddle with him instead of going back to the party - which you have no problem with at all.

A/n happy Halloween everyone! Hope you enjoyed these hcs, and let me know if you think I should do more "How different characters would act in a scenario" type headcanons- because this was a lot of fun to write!

As always, replies and reblogs are greatly appreciated, they help me figure out what sort of stuff people wanna see more of :^)

Requests are still open! Check my pinned post for details

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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flanaganfilm · 1 year

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Mike, can you tell us your experience premiering Oculus at tiff 2013? I recently saw Perri Nemiroff’s interview with you (looking like a baby btw- so young) and it made me think about what your mindset must have been as in getting yo experience the launch of your career, post Absentia, at one of the most prestigious festivals.

Oh, I remember that very well... a lot changed in a very short amount of time. And I think I know the interview you're talking about, I keep trying to link to it here but it doesn't take...

So there are few things to point out about Oculus and about what was happening in my life at the time. When Oculus got greenlit, I was working full time as a reality television editor. I used to sneak out of my job at lunch to go to "doctor's appointments" whenever I had to come for production meetings or casting sessions (they started to think there was something really, really wrong with my health).

Making the movie was an amazing learning experience - it was my first "real" movie, and full of lessons. It was the first collaboration with people who would become pillars of my career moving forward, like producer Trevor Macy (who is now my partner at Intrepid Pictures and who has produced everything I've ever made since) and my DP Michael Fimognari, who is one of the most important collaborators of my life. It was also the first time I worked with a young actress named Kate Siegel, who played the spooky ghost in the mirror.

We went into TIFF with distribution already in place. FilmDistrict had committed to the project during the Cannes market before we shot the movie, so we thought we were set. It was going to be my big theatrical debut.

Just before we premiered at TIFF, FilmDistrict abruptly and bafflingly dropped the film. I still don't really know why. They had committed to a worldwide theatrical release for the movie, but for reasons that were never made entirely clear to me, they dropped us just before the festival. Suddenly the whole enterprise was in jeopardy, and I didn't know if anyone would pick the movie back up.

I was absolutely terrified.

Being my first "real" movie, I didn't really know how this world worked and couldn't understand why our distributor didn't want to release it. We'd made the movie they had been excited about, they seemed to really like it, and we'd done everything they asked - it was a shock to the system. So when we rolled into tiff, we were homeless and trying not to let FilmDistrict's abrupt change of heart poison our chances of another sale.

I had never been to TIFF before but heard about Midnight Madness, which had seen huge sales from Cabin Fever and Insidious. Bidding wars had broken out while the films were still screening. But being part of the program was absolutely no guarantee of distribution - in fact, this might be the highest this movie would ever rise.

Trevor Macy and I went to the world premiere of The Green Inferno, which was playing the night before we played, and the audience was ROWDY. Like, shouting and hollering throughout the movie. We looked at each other with wide, nervous eyes - if this was the Midnight Madness audience, they were going to hate our movie the next day. We were considerably slower, ponderous, and atmospheric in a room that seemed to demand visceral, overt entertainment. I left the screening feeling dejected and a little doomed. Trevor was more upbeat, citing conversations he'd had with the programmer, Colin Geddes, who assured us he'd put our movie in the best possible spot for its success.

Our screening was September 9th, 2013 at midnight. I was petrified, and we were sold out. I remember walking into the theater feeling like this was the most important screening of my life. I wasn't alone, thank goodness. Trevor Macy, Michael Fimognari, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane, and James Lafferty were on hand. The film seemed to play well. It was the opposite of the screening the night before, which Colin had told us would happen - "watch," he had said. "The Saturday night slot is the big crazy one. You guys are Sunday, and it's going to be completely different. They'll plug right in."

He was right. You could hear a pin drop for most of the first half, and then there were moments of scattered applause that picked up as the film progressed. By the end, people were jumping in their seats and cheering for young Tim and Kaylee. There was an audible gasp when the anchor swung. And the applause at the credits seemed heartfelt and loud.

Most of that is a blur for me. I found this grainy pic from the Q&A after the film. I still had no idea how it had gone, or what was going to come out of it. I remember having hard time putting words together, and I vividly recall feeling like I sounded like an absolute moron whenever I talked, and trying to pass the microphone over to the actors as often as I could.

It's tough to see everyone in the pic, but from left to right it is Colin Geddes, Michael Fimognari, myself, Trevor Macy, Katee Sackhoff, Brenton Thwaites, Rory Cochrane, and James Lafferty.

When I stepped out of the theater, though, I became aware that everything had changed. I was immediately surrounded by people who had seen the film, suddenly shaking a ton of hands and realizing that it had been a hit. I walked into the theater by myself, utterly anonymous, and feeling every bit like an imposter. But everything was different when I walked out. I remember someone from the press talking about it years later, and saying "I was there that night - you walked into the theater with nothing, and walked out with a career."

People were asking me to sign stuff. That had never happened in my life. People wanted to get pictures. It was SO. FUCKING. WEIRD. Someone snapped a picture during that little whirlwind, and you can see it on my (young, skinny, hopelessly naive) face - an overall bewilderment, a gentle disbelief that this was happening:

I loved my experience at TIFF. And it absolutely started everything. Relativity, Blumhouse, and WWE Films joined forces to make an offer on the movie at the festival, and we left with a theatrical distribution deal. My career had officially begun. Now, I wouldn't feel like it had for several more years - I remained in fight/flight/survival mode well through Gerald's Game - but in retrospect, yes, that's when it happened.

Thank you for asking this question, it's been a while since I've looked back at this period of my life. It kinda makes me want to watch that movie again. It has been a LONG time, and I owe it a lot.

Maybe everything.

#oculus #tiff #toronto film festival #midnight madness #I cannot and will not accept that this was only ten years ago

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mika-meowz · 17 days

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You guys ready for how I wanted to rewrite the daughter of Dr. Jekyll?

First things first, I will confess that as cool as the werewolf thing was, I wasn't a fan of it

And as cool as it would've been for her to actually have genetic effects for the potion, I decided to go without that true to the movie

So, how do we start?

Well, we start pretty true to the movie. Janet is about to turn 21, and inherit her father's house after discovering her father was Dr. Jekyll

For the sake of not having 25 people in every scene, let's say Janet stays overnight at the house alone, eager to explore before she fully inherits the house

And wouldn't you know it, she isn't alone!

Hiding in the old lab, is her own father, Dr. Henry Jekyll! Dr. Henry Jekyll, who has no idea why he's dead, or any memory of anything after Hyde was made. Or of Hyde!

Or of Janet.

He doesn't believe he has a daughter; he even laughs at the thought, but he's willing to entertain the idea because clearly he's missing something here.

The two talk about the house, and bond over the fact they'd both been feeling watched.

Janet thought the feeling was because Jekyll had clearly been haunting the house, but then....

Who was watching Jekyll?

With more of the house still unexplored, they both set off to try and find what could be hiding.

What's hiding is Mr. Hyde! Who's been avoiding Jekyll for his own peace of mind, but is now very excited to see his daughter is stopping by for a visit!

Accross the next couple nights, Hyde causes mischief. Staying out of sight, causing spooky noises, moving things around, just being a regular poltergeist.

He gets to finally play with his daughter after 2 decades! In all this excitement, Hyde doesn't even realise he's scaring the poor girl half to death.

Eventually, he's caught red-handed, revealing himself and his playful intentions. He excitedly chats with Janet, so curious about what she's been up to her whole life.

And the next day, Janet does some research. She researches for a while, visiting Hyde during the nights. She searches for any information about her father and his mysterious transformative other half while the sun is high.

And once she feels she has enough- and after visiting old man Utterson for extra- she brings it all back to Jekyll to try and help him understand.

He reads the notes, memories flood back and Jekyll.... isn't pleased. He faces the same issue that tortured him for the last span of his life.

Him and Hyde can't truly make peace with eachother.

When they find Hyde, it doesn't go well. It quickly boils into an ugly spat between Jekyll and Hyde. Jekyll is fairly livid that Hyde's desire to live- all his unfinished business- kept Jekyll tied to this world.

Hyde doesn't care- he has every right to want to stay! Jekyll was the only one who really wanted to go, it isn't fair that Hyde had to go down with him!

This goes on until Jekyll can see his younger self in how terrified Hyde is at the idea of passing on and eases up, which gives them both time to actually talk.

[CONTINUED IN REBLOG I HIT THE IMAGE LIMIT]

#dr jekyll #jekyll and hyde #dr jekyll and mr hyde #henry jekyll #mr hyde #edward hyde #the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde

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mdhwrites · 6 months

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The Grimwalker as a concept was so weird. Mainly that Hunter was all 'ohhhh no we cant tell them im a spooky Grimwalker!' But... why would anyone care? The only reason given is that hes a reincarnation of a guy nobody even knows or cares about. Theres not even like, a spooky myth about Grimwalkers because its got such a vague ruleset and premise. He's barely different from a demon.

That COULD have linked to the demon discrimination plotline youve talked about, but there is none so it cant be that. Which i understand was partially because Dana wanted the gays to just exist, so she scrapped discrimination in general. But, a big part of forming cultures and identity is 'Otherness'. People compare themselves to others and define themselves by how theyre different. So scrapping discrimination ends up making the witchs and demons feel like nothing. They have nothing to compare their identity and culture against because theres just no conflict to spark comparison.

This lack of substance also means the fans don't care about Grimwalkers. See the moring comic where the Grimwalker was turned into ANOTHER way to say 'haha Boscha so cringe amirite? point and laugh because she has nobody who loves her.' even though the grimwalker is to reincarnate the dead.

OH MY GOD I'M SO HAPPY SOMEONE ELSE NOTICED THAT! *SCREAMS BLOODY MURDER* Like I know Mark just writes Boscha how the entire fandom sees her (which hasn't helped me enjoy A Hint of Blue, not that I think it's good regardless) but seriously what the fuck!? Why do that to her except just to be mean!?

*sighs* What were we talking about? OH RIGHT! Grimmwalkers.

So for why Hunter has anxiety, it actually is because TOH is doing a very basic clone/artificial human storyline with Hunter and those arcs are actually a lot more internally motivated than externally motivated. Clone lives a life believing they're their own person, then one day finds out they're not, perceives themselves as less because of this distinction but then in the end decides that regardless of their origin, they are their own person and so throw off their shackles, embrace who they are and become better for it. It has nothing to do with race and while it is baby's first clone story, I also still like it conceptually because, well, there's a reason why it's the default clone story. It especially is good for kid's media because while the clone can struggle with the anxiety of it, their friends never have to actually be bad or discriminatory against them because the point is loving yourself for who you are and not who you were made to be.

But I've talked before about how this basic framework actually has a Catch 22 built into it when it comes to Hunter... Which apparently Tumblr wants to tell me I've never done before. Thanks search function. The short version is that this template requires not only a rejection of what they were made for but for them to become distinctly different, usually opposite, to their purpose/original. For Hunter, he only knows Belos so this takes shape in trying to be the opposite of him. The problem is that the opposite of Belos... Is Caleb. Who Hunter mimics in every action he takes after getting away from Belos. There's literally no way to follow this template without adding complexities like him accepting his true origin and being okay/happy with that, something that was probably unlikely in general but especially wasn't going to happen with the shortening, which I will actually give people for. Because the Grimmwalker twist happens so late, they either had to cut it or had no time to actually do anything with it which like... Why not cut it? You did nothing with it and it actually made sure you didn't have the time to actually have Hunter reject Belos' morality so that his redemption doesn't come across as self serving and for survival more than an actual, you know, change to his beliefs.

As for how interesting Grimmwalkers are... They're just clones. Boilerplate, boring clones. Make a body based on another person, put memories in, BAM! Got yourself a clone. Doesn't get more classic than that. It's hardly even magical honestly besides the components, especially with how it actually doesn't give them magic despite those components, or have weird quirks since they're not actually made of flesh and blood, elements that the fans have had a lot of fun with that the show never does, though admittedly part of that is due to how late it happens. Then again, all magic in TOH is boring so it's not likely they would have anyways. Also, you know, a lot of shows will do a single clone episode and have more fun and magic to it than TOH does with one of their core cast members being one so *shrug*

Now, for the final part, I do want to also touch on the 'other' aspect because while discrimination is one way to do it, you can get this across in other ways. One such way is the core defining trait of the Grimmwalker from a tangible standpoint: He doesn't have magic. In a society that mostly has magic, him not having it is a big deal. It's literally what gives him and Willow their first connection as a couple, as insulting as that scene actually should be to Hunter.

And then Hunter is 'fixed' when he gains his magic. His 'other' status removed because he's a real boy now. *SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH*

I have so much more I could say about TOH and 'The Other' (made a blog about a lot of it between writing this draft and publish) but I'll leave it at that so it actually stays on topic instead of the half a dozen tangents I've deleted. None of this makes it good by the way and with how TOH tackles most subjects like this, it's incredibly unlikely that more time would have made it better. After all, being a Grimmwalker is only one of like a half dozen TANTALIZING character/arc concepts for Hunter that are never addressed. The fact that he is trained to kill witches and likely has. His relationship with the Isles because he doesn't have inherent magic. The fact that he is filled with such care for the nation and its government that it blocks out all else in his world. How a sheltered child reacts when they suddenly have freedom and are thrust into the wider world. Etc. etc. that are just footnotes to the writers more than anything to actually build a complete arc around or else they wouldn't have just keep adding to the angst bucket without actually resolving any of it.

So of course Grimmwalkers are bland while being a fine to good concept that's then made terrible by narrative implication or neglect. That's EVERYTHING to do with Hunter.

======+++++=====

Sidenote for this one: It is funny that Dana wanted there to be no bigotry in the Isles when her villains entire scheme is through religious persecution. You know, bigotry. Whole other blog I could go into.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical #hunter toh #Grimmwalker #The Owl House #owl house #toh

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thewildeast · 4 months

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Looking at all of the messed up boss forms during the Neutral Flowey fight

I just want to talk about them i like them a lot. i was very obsessed with help_tale when i was younger and that's probably why. spoilers below cut, and body horror warning because of the topic ofc.

Decibat

Starting with Decibat, no eyes and a stomach mouth. Awesome!! The stomach mouth kinda goes along with Decibat's noise theme - HUGE MOUTH is loud and Decibat wants quiet.

Dalv

Out of all of the Flowey forms only 2 actually made me jump and this is one of them. Creepy eye things get to me and that’s why this is one of my favorites. It's really simple but it's great. Also the way it glitches sometimes makes it look like he has more than 2 eyes, which I'm not sure if it's on purpose but it's still neat!

I do wonder what would be under the cloak, like would it just be normal Dalv? The void? Something like the Deer Lord from Spooky’s Jumpscare Mansion? idfk. His face being obscured is like how Dalv obscures his face with his cloak for the majority of Dark Ruins, and since we don't really get to know him due to killing him, we don't get to see his real face..

Martlet

Martlet technically doesn’t have a form like the others but I didn’t want to leave her out. This scene does a great job at being unsettling with the lack of talking portrait and the slowed down Snowdin imo. i really like how her hugging animation changes for just that One Frame, it's slow enough that you'll probably catch it but quick enough that you might be wondering if you imagined it.

And then there's the whole "I'm so happy I found you! So happy I found you. I found you." that happens and then her face melts to reveal the Eye. The eye is in grayscale, like Flowey is during the second phase of his fight, so I wonder if it's meant to be HIM looking at you through Martlet.

And the melting parallels her death in No mer- hey wait, why does Martlet melt in both routes where she dies? Like??? I mean, she does have connections to Alphys and the True Lab so like...or maybe i'm just over thinking it. Either way this ones cool, if I knew pixel art I would try to make a form for her like the others have.

El Bailador

I think a lot of people believe this is the scariest one and....yeah. This is the other one that actually made me jump. The smile, the Eyes, it's fucking scary i hate this one (positive). The large strained smile goes with how El Bailador wants to make everyone happy with his dancing even though some prefer quiet, which he doesn't realize. does that make sense idk if that makes sense.

Starlo

Oh boy plant growth body horror! Yeah this one’s good. The vines growing out from his face, the weirdly elongated hands, the way the piece of straw on his hat changes to a flower. Honestly I have 0 clue what is going on with his face. Very cool. I also just noticed the holes in his poncho, like bullet holes? i saw someone say he's still hot on twitter and im scared

Ceroba

Ceroba's gets bonus points for being one of the rarer ones, because you have to abort a No Mercy route to see it. Besides that, no face! Wahoo! Plus her bow has changed to have a flower in it, which matches Starlo.

My favorite thing though is that the way pixels are scattered (i cannot find the right wording for this) kinda makes it look like she's constantly turning into dust which is really cool!! I think her face might be obscured for the same reason as Dalv, considering you have to be in No Mercy to see this you never get to know who Ceroba is.

Guardener

Overgrown robots overgrown robots overgrown robots. She already was overgrown but it gets more turned up with this one which makes me very happy, I love overgrown robots and machinery. All the vines get changed into flowers as well to fit, yippee! The Delta Rune logo on her chest is also scratched out, which is one way to send a message...

Axis

I like how the lack of face here parallels both how axis dies in No Mercy AND the death of the blue soul. This one's very cool, though i wish there were some more wires in his face like his death sprite in No Mercy has. thats a weird thing to wish for isnt it. Actually now that I'm looking at it more, it kinda looks like a mouth? That might just be because of the things at the top and bottom, I'm not sure if it's meant to be a mouth.

Oh! And the heart in his chest is missing, which hurts because both ways you can spare him involve filling his heart (either with Daisy or compliments. Also, Axis' neutral route spare is extremely cute, please go check it out if you haven't seen it.)

anyway thanks for reading through teehee my favorites are probably dalv’s ceroba’s and guardener’s. i have to wonder what the Feisty Four would have looked like in this? They don't get any because well, they don't die, but I like them...I don't really have any ideas myself, though. ok bye

#uty #undertale yellow #📝rambleramble #ut yellow #uty spoilers #undertale yellow spoilers

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aerodaltonimperial · 6 months

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✨Fic Writing Review 2023✨

Tagged by @rosabellebelieve and oh girl. Ain't nobody ready for these stats LOL. Uh oh. Also, I've removed all collab fics for purposes of this, as it doesn't really seem fair since I only wrote, like, half of them lmao.

Words and Fics

268,626 words in 2023 (mother of god)

52 fics on AO3 (dear christ)

I'm not even counting Tumblr ficlets, oh god, don't make me

Top 5 Pairings

💚🖤Jack/Darby (24) (NUMBER ONE???? how tho)

🧡🖤Hook/Danhausen (23)

💚🧡Jack/Hook (5)

🔮🍑Julia/Anna (4)

🧡🎤Max Caster/Hook (3) & 🧡🍊Orange/Hook (3) (HAHAHAHAHA)

Top 5 by kudos

i found love where it wasn't supposed to be (right in front of me) [Hookhausen]

man of lesser words [Hookhausen]

don't need a cure for love [Orange/Hook]

baby please (would you read my eulogy) [JungleCorpse]

you're the realest thing i've never had to fake [Hookhausen]

Top 5 by hits

baby please (would you read my eulogy) [JungleCorpse]

i found love where it wasn't supposed to be (right in front of me) [Hookhausen]

now you know how i feel [Hookhausen]

Weekend in Fresno: or, a Hook choose your own dating adventure [Hook/everyone]

threat level: euclid [HH, JC, SP]

Fandom Events in 2023

I made it to a wrestling show! Since they never go near me and my life is what it is, I really can't manage more than one a year, and I've got to be lucky to get that to work, but this was a big deal and I'm so happy that I could make it happen!

ALSO I MADE UP A FUCKING PAIRING AND GOT IT TO THE #1 FOR BOTH PARTIES INVOLVED you know what this counts as an event LMAOOOOO i'm thinking no one should actually have this power

Upcoming Projects

If I ever stop bemoaning my perceived lack of skill, I've got 2/3 of a fic that Vamp prompted dialogue for, largely me writing something fluffy and saccharine because she was trying to write smut and we were both trying to write out of our wheelhouses lol

Writing reflection

Well! 2023 was quite a year, honestly. I was going to be like OH HOLY SHIT about my word count but when I took our collabs, it dropped so fast, so that's good, I guess (???). I'm still so happy I discovered wrestling, because it's been easily 12 years since I had this amount of creativity for a single fandom. And this year I really stretched out and started writing new stuff within the wrestling fandom! That's exciting (depending what you followed me for, I suppose LOL).

But more than anything else, this year I looked at what I wanted to write and said, FUCK IT, I'M WRITING IT. And I started dropping horror shit I fully expected that no one would read, because I didn't think people came to fandom for spooky stuff??? And lo and behold, y'all really showed up for those fics! I'm forever grateful you saw me writing absolutely batshit horror and were like yes, Katy, we will also read this creepfest. So much love.

I also tried to write more smut, which I am not particularly adept at, and also some darker themes. I do try to write lighthearted things, haha, but my own mental state has been not stellar, and I think that tends to come out in my fics. And I started writing femslash, which this fandom needs so much more of! So. All in all, a real banger year for me in fandom. I'm pretty proud of a LOT of the fics I wrote this year.

And, obviously, 2023 would not be complete with me mentioning that Vamp and I produced an epic shit ton of words together, and MORE IMPORTANTLY had an absolute blast in doing so. What a whirlwind writing together has been!!! I think we've really gotten to this point of just great flow, and I'm super proud of how we work so well like we do. We DO HAVE SOMETHING ELSE COMING but we've been "planning" it since August and haven't written it yet, so HAHAHA. Anyway. Expect that in 2025, or something. ;)

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please do eat glass, I’ve heard it’s good for your gums.

Tagging: @whysamwhy123 @meeplanguage @fille-lioncelle and anyone else who wants to take a stab at this!

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mdccanon · 2 years

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Nope 2022: New Top Ten for me

I'm just saying... Who wants to pet Jean Jacket with me?

This entire movie is constructed from five themes so tightly interwoven, every scene features at least two.

I got my eyes on you. Territorial, temperamental, and spirited. Impossible shot. She was mine to tame. Spectacle.

How do you write a script SO perfect?!

Ricky Park not only does NOT know how to process his childhood trauma, he carries a mistaken belief that he can tame violent animals, as if he has an unspoken bond with them. He channels this unhealthy belief into making a spectacle out of Jean Jacket.

Emerald felt her father never saw her, so she seeks attention elsewhere, while OJ was stuck inside this tiny territory Senior placed him in.

Because OJ has spent his life taming spirited animals, he knows a wild animal when he sees one.

Angel stares at hours of footage until he sees the impossible: a single cloud that doesn't move all day.

Antlers Holst can barely stand people, but he loves animals and he's fascinated by predators conquering their prey. The moment he falls in love with Jean Jacket as he watches her lunge for her prey, he refuses to let the Haywood's have their impossible shot.

OJ will not look at, will not anger, and will not turn his back on Jean Jacket. You don't not disrespect an animal like that.

Poor Jean Jacket wasn't doing anything wrong. She was just protecting her territory, eating her snackums, and resting in her cloud. The mean humans tricked her into eating a metal horse that she almost choked on, which made her so hungry that she ate a two dozen people. Which was just a horrible experience, she had to throw up nearly as much as she ate. And right when she's trying to eat a snackums that she's been seeing for weeks, she chomps on barbed wire and becomes so scared that she unfurls into the largest mass she can make to scare away the terrifying humans.

The only way Emerald is going to salvage this complete SNAFU is to tame Jean Jacket, as she was always meant to, and take the impossible shot.

I'm Team OJ is Alive because Jean Jacket literally can't hurt anyone when she's in "Spooky Mode". Seriously, I cannot stress enough how I love Jordan Peele for writing a giant animal that actually acts like a giant animal. She doesn't chase the humans for hours on end with no regard for her own safety or sleep. She spends more time sleeping than anything else, the heroes literally stare at her napping in her cloud. Her movements are exactly like a predator crouching in the grass, she isn't trying to spend any more energy than she needs to hunt. Ole' girl was just spitting out metal like how Black folks spit out sunflower seeds. She's living her best life, blessed and not stressed.

I loved how she wriggled around whenever anything scared or hurt her. Seriously, she jumped to the top of my Top 10 list immediately, right next to JP's T-Rex and the xenomorph. Can't we make a giant platform and feed that cutie some cows??

#nope 2022 #nope spoilers #jean jacket nope #nope movie #jordan peele

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lesbian-gnf-archive · 1 year

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My full, unfiltered review of episode 1 of GnLoss:

To preface this, I did not watch it for any ill intent if anyone thinks I did. I watched it because I love horror and had been casually interested since the concept was announced two years ago. I went into this hoping for something to entertain me and was unfortunately disappointed, and this is all my own subjective opinion. If you genuinely liked it I'm happy for you

To start with some of the things I did like, I liked when the camera was higher quality and the effects of when R.anb.oo walked through the door into the green room, or especially when they were on the beach. I liked the look of it, especially with the lone door. I found the effect of the fabric wall when Charlie was pushing against it to give a bit of a spooky look (though this enjoyment ended quickly when the camera showed how the effect was made and it was immediately made into a joke. This wouldn't have been as much of a problem to me if the rest of the episode wasn't like this as well), and I laughed a couple of times when Charlie told a joke. I also liked the very final scene, again when Ra.nbo.o goes through the door and the camera is higher quality and then they get sedated, cool shot 👍

Other than that, the only word I can think of when I look back on it is boring. I felt that it lacked any substance or comedy or horror. And to be very clear, I am the number one defender for stories that use the first episode/season/act to establish the characters and setting more. Like I am completely okay with that because I'm someone who values the characters in a story more than the story itself, if I care about the characters I can live with a mediocre story, but I can't live with a great story if I can't stand/don't care for the characters. So I am completely fine with that, but the problem with gnlss is that it barely establishes any of that.

I'm watching this story and I don't care who these characters are or what happens to them or what they do. You can trade any of the characters out with any other one and it would still be the same for me. And it's especially a problem with Ra.nbo.o, our protagonist, because the audience is meant to care that he doesn't get hurt, like we physically have to care enough to make the right choices but he has absolutely no personality and you could change him for a brick wall and get the same character.

And one of the most glaring issues with it is obviously the quality. I've seen lots of people say that it was done on purpose, but if that's the case then it needs to be so bad that it's obviously on purpose. It's like if you draw a straight line without a ruler, it will almost always come out crooked and sloppy, but when someone sees that they will automatically think you tried to make a straight line and failed. Which is why if you're doing it on purpose, you make the line squiggly because then people will glance at it and know that it was on purpose. It's the same thing with the acting, Charlie did his best but he did not have any help when trying to work with Sn.ee.g or Ra.nbo.o and their very flat performances, R being especially guilty of not using the very first and basic rule of improv: to say "yes, and". And it's especially disappointing because I was never expecting professional acting from twitch streamers at all, but I know that R can do better because while it wasn't amazing their lore streams were leagues above their acting in this. And again, over and over again I see "it's bad on purpose" but that can only be used as an excuse so many times.

If everything is mediocre and the only excuse is "it's on purpose" then all you did is make something mediocre. I've also seen some people say that what they did was impressive given their resources they had, but this show was funded by an entire company, created by a millionaire, and has been in the works for two years. This isn't a small indie project created by one person, it has a budget and it used it all on a mask that you can't even hear him out of. The constant change in camera quality when switching between live stuff and pre recorded stuff was extremely jarring, and only made it more glaringly obvious how poorly shot the live sections were, I really wish they stayed with the higher quality or at the very least kept it consistent.

And to top it off, it's just not what it had been promo'd as. The promos set expectations that were so far from what we got that I can't believe these are meant to be the same projects. If I watched it with no knowledge that it was meant to be a horror project then I would have no idea, the fact that I could not tell you the actual genre of it within the first (and from what Ra.nbo.o is describing the next episode is gonna be, the second as well) is a problem. If they didn't want the first episode to be focused on horror, that's fine, but there still needs to be something there. Like, the very first scene could have been a scary compilation of vague clips showing what happened to him and how he got in the house, and if executed well could then blend fine into the goofy story. It's also just. Painfully unfunny. You can tell they're trying to tell jokes and to make it funny, so it hurts more when you don't even crack a smile until an hour in.

I was hoping the second episode would go more into the lore or horror, but Ra.nbo.o has said that this next one is meant to be sillier which is incredibly disappointing and will most likely cause a huge tone problem for the third episode if 2/3s of your horror series is unfunny comedy.

#kore.talks

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mrkusbastard · 3 months

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I made myself an OC for "Spooky Month"!!!

This is just a sketch reference, of course, but I have already done several full-fledged works with it, because it turned out to be quite easy to draw him.

And also tell a few facts about him, because I love him

For starters, his name is Tiabi. You can call him Tia/Tiabani, just Bunny, or give him any nickname. He will be glad of anything that is not an offensive insult :3

sorry for my bad english it's not my native language🤧

A little information about him!

1. Many locals know him because he is a local urban lunatic of indeterminate age. He looks like a child, but his appearance has not changed for many years...

2. He doesn't have any parents, maybe they're dead. He doesn't know where they are and usually doesn't think about it. Usually.

3. He often brings garbage to his house because he likes to look for interesting and useful things in it. But then he doesn't do the cleaning because he doesn't want to and it's hard for him to focus on something so boring for a long time.

4. Dirty, but sometimes he remembers about hygiene and washes himself

5. In the house, somewhere among the piles of garbage, there are his personal documents, in which his full name and date of birth are written. But it is unlikely that he will ever find them.

6. He usually doesn't bother people, but if you talk to him yourself, he will be very sociable and annoying.

7. When communicating, he violates people's personal space, standing close and grabbing their arms or sleeves, not realizing that thereby causes discomfort to the interlocutor.

8. It is easy to attract his attention with the words "come on, I'll show you something interesting" and then he will follow you.

9. He loves Halloween and candy!!! Sometimes he creates a festive costume for himself out of garbage and old clothes. He is also very fond of tea and cheese sticks

10. He has problems with nutrition, mostly he eats sweets. Because of this, he often has a tummy ache :(

11. It is much easier for him to communicate with children because he understands them well. He's on the same wavelength with them. Many adults are too complicated, serious and incomprehensible for him...

12. Gullible and does not understand much in this life

13. It is easy to offend him with rude evil words, which will make him freeze and start crying loudly

14. It is uncomfortable to wear shoes, but without shoes his feet often hurt and freeze. He keeps walking without shoes anyway, because he's a fool

15. His favorite animals are dragons and lizards. He thinks lizards are just little dragons

16. He does not know how to adjust the volume of his voice, which often makes him speak very loudly, make a lot of noise and sometimes turn to shouting. But he will try to be quieter if you ask him to do so

17. He was raped

#spooky month #spooky month oc #oc #sketch

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ilikereadingactually · 2 months

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Something Kindred

Something Kindred by Ciera Burch

i went into this book not knowing what to expect, just because i requested the galley so long ago and had forgotten what it was about, which made everything a delightful surprise! it's queer, it's spooky, it's honest and frank, and it's so satisfyingly put together. a compelling read!

one of the highlights for me was how real and deep each character felt, even the ones who didn't actually have much time on the page--and at the same time, Jericka's limited POV was so precisely written that i shared her sense of outsider-ness. the tension between her present, moving back to a tiny town she doesn't remember, and her past there that she's just discovering, was perfectly balanced for me. and what a great combo of deeply reality-based interpersonal problems within Jericka's family, and sad and creepy emotionally-based supernatural happenings introduced by her new friend/crush Kat! i was so delighted when both of these elements started to connect, pulling together throughlines of home versus freedom, and processing trauma and grief through art.

also?? it's very hard to write honest and difficult conversations between people who have deeply hurt each other. i often find them too perfect and astute, or too trite and stereotypical. Burch has found the sweet spot, for me anyway, where each difficult conversation feels real and emotionally charged but also doesn't drag on. characters are honest about their complicated feelings, and nothing is solved perfectly, but it gets better.

(also also...i love ghost stories. i love photography in stories. i love these things together SO MUCH!)

the deets

how i read it: an e-galley from NetGalley, i am racing just ahead of all the pub dates, so many books in the spring!! also this was a fast (but satisfying) read, so i zoomed through it in an evening. looking forward to picking up a physical copy of this one!

try this if you: need more gentle queer Black girl romantic storylines (who doesn't), love multigenerational family stuff, dig haunted small towns, or are into books about loss.

some bits i really liked: so much beautiful imagery!

There are hundreds of thousands of stars in the sky, and it looks like a few dozen have fallen to earth. It takes me a moment to realize they haven't. That these are the lightning bugs she was talking about. They move in unison, flitting this way and that, forming circles of light around each other and around me and Kat. It's the most magical thing I've ever seen. Beyond them is real night. Even with the stars and the lightning bugs glowing their brightest, a person could lose themselves in this darkness. We lie down, facing the sky.

---

A picture of Gram on the couch layered over a shot of a close-up of the schoolhouse. A dull yellow flower exposed over the shadows of the woods. Mom covering up her childhood self, somehow midlaugh in both pictures, years and years apart.

pub date: April 2, 2024!

#books and reading #booklr #bookblr #book recs #book reviews #queer speculative fiction #queer ya #something kindred #ciera burch

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saint-augustines-pears · 7 months

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Saw the post that mentioned samhain and wanted to toss in some info (if you ever wanted more info about it, because I don't do discourse on tumblr) from a recent info thing I put together recently, because this misconception with the samhain debate drives me nuts

Samhain was a harvest festival that marked the start of the dark half of the year. Along with its springtime counterpart Beltane (which marked the growing season/light half of the year), it was announced based on the weather and was facilitated by and only by the Druids, a blood-identity pagan religion of upper class priests.

Samhain would be announced whenever the weather got cold enough. It was sometimes in early October or late September. It was sometimes in early November.

October 31st was never a thing for Samhain because the date always varied, and because the Druids, being Celts and existing before the Roman occupation of their lands, didn't use the Roman calendar nor did they use our modern Julian calendar.

You'll also hear how the Celts had a celebration on the last day of October unrelated to Samhain. This is true; on the last day of almost every month they had a minor celebration. Again, keep in mind too that the date was particular to the way their own culture counted months, not how Rome did it back then nor how we do it now.

it's true that the idea of "baptizing" traditions and holidays isn't unheard of when people and cultures convert from one religion to another. What's good to note is that this is not a forced thing, the baptizing of traditions; it's a practice that embraces older traditions and doesn't eradicate them. Conquerers would just eradicate them.

Technically, it is possible that the original date of All Saints got its chosen date, May 13th, via baptism of Lemuralia, a Roman holiday where spooky stuff happened regarding spirits and the dead. Christians instead chose to celebrate the joy of the Saints in heaven, because Jesus defeated death and the gates of hell won't prevail, etc, then the pope made stuff official calendar-wise.

However, when it comes to the Samhain debate, it's a myth that the Church picked that date to overtake it. Pope Gregory III switched up the date of All Saints in the 700s to commemorate a new oratory (special chapel) at the Old St. Peter's Basilica that was built to honor the saints and martyrs.

At a time when there were pagan religions and holidays all over the place, to try and outdo one harvest festival of one religious cult in the far north of the known world thousands upon thousands of miles away from Rome and Constantinople simply wasn't a reason to change an established date of a major, international, intercontinental religious celebration.

Most of these myths, along with a romanticizing of pagan religions much like modern-day's romanticizing of Norse religions and wiccan stuff, arose in England and Western Europe during the 1600 - 1700s by anti-Catholics and misinformed historians/the wealthy.

Anon I just want you to know that I am your biggest fan

Also, how did I not know it was called baptizing traditions/holidays??? That’s so awesome and I love it???

Thank you so much, this is so well put together and honestly kind of better than my post lmao

#catholicism #christianity #religion #halloween #all hallows eve #asks #this is so cool and I love it

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