spoonie-arthour - Tumblr blog

[spoonie-arthour]

IT'S BEEN 1 YEAR SINCE THE OWL HOUSE ENDED 💜, IT CHANGED ME AS A PERSON AND I WILL FOREVER BE GLAD ABOUT IT

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I'm still working away on this!! I'll stream a couple days next week (probably Tuesday and Thursday?) while I keep at it!!

[spoonie-arthour]

Rewatched The Phantom Menace

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Well now I wanna see this

Having re-watched Alien (1979) and Aliens (1985), I think I've realized what went wrong with the further expanded film universe on a thematic level (this is not accounting for AVP films, which seem to exist within their own continuity atm).

The main issue is that these films made 2 intertwining mistakes:

Making the Xenomorph too animalistic

Removing the mystery of space

For the first part, Alien and Aliens are quite vague about the Xenomorph mind. Alien treats it almost like a serial killer at times, including a particularly interesting moment where it disregards Jones the Cat entirely, despite making a very easy target, and how it will sometimes meander up to the crew as if it knows it's inflicting terror upon them. This Xenomorph even seems to only flee when Parker goes to kill it with a knife and hides within the evac shuttle when it realizes that Ripley was going there as well.

Aliens forgoes this in favor of showing how terrifying their numbers are even in the face of superior (if greatly mislead) fire power, but then pulls the rug under our protagonists by (seemingly) cutting the power and testing the endurance of the auto-turrets. While the drones are not individually as intelligent as the original xenomorph from the first film, this is instead given to the Queen, who understands not only the danger Ripley poses to her Hive but hostage negotiations of the most blunt variety. And, of course, incredible spite and vengeance when Ripley burns her eggs.

Basically, the two films do a good job of making you wonder... how sapient and sentient are the Xenomorphs? Do we take Ash's word and think of them as simply Hostile Weapons or do we see them for the adaptable and complex - if instinct guided - parasites just trying to protect their hive? This is further food for thought when we learn that one of the cut endings would have had the Xenomorph kill Ripley, tentatively use the shuttles control panel, and speak into the intercom with Dallas voice (ala Predator).

Imo, that goes too far into making them human, but we'll circle back to that later. The point is that the Xenomorph is never clearly one thing or another, but rather, something that constantly foils our attempts to understand them completely.

Aliens 3, Alien: Resurrection, Prometheus, and Alien: Covenant fail in that regard, because they take the firm stance that the Xenomorph is... an animal. A very, very, dangerous and hostile animal but an animal nonetheless. It's not some vague horror that we struggle to comprehend and reason with, because all the facts (as they are for now) are laid out: the Xenomorphs are weaponized animals that just kill, reproduce, and kill etc etc.

Nothing is entirely new about the Xenomorphs in these movies (beyond the forms and one part of Covenant, but we'll circle back to that as well), but rather trying to recapture the formula of Alien and Aliens. And even when the film isn't necessarily about the Xenomorphs like Prometheus, it still goes out of its way to copy the play by play of Alien to an almost hilarious degree (except, somehow, having a cast entirely of stupid scientists).

The Xenomorph is used as a toll for the films to talk more about the human threats who would use them, which is fine, except the same message of "Weyland-Yutani wants Xenomorphs, They Failed" over and over again (except I guess for Alien: Resurrection, but that had Walmart as a plot point so...) gets tedious. It's not longer about the folley of mankind, but rather this one company led by a man (or Android?) who keeps fucking up.

Ditto goes for the second part: removing the mystery from space. Alien and Aliens treat the Space Jockey and other (non-Xenomorph) alien life at an arms distance. They are large, grand, ominous, and vaguely defined. We don't know much about WY in either movie, nor how much is them knowing versus independent people within the company (Burke mentions cutting out his own bosses for profit for example, and Bishop the company Android is heroic and horrified at the situation they are all in, a big difference to Ash). The Xenomorphs having a Queen was a huge reveal, because we literally had no idea until then if those were actual eggs or simply pods artificially created.

Aliens 3 tries to add some mystery with the prison colony, but it's also hamfisted and given a lot of exposition to explain the situation they are in, but I will give it kudos for making Weyland (???) look like Bishop as a twist. Aliens: Resurrection... yeah, no.

Prometheus and Alien Covenant gave us a plethora of seeming mysteries, but also gives us really super simple answers. Basically, Space Jockeys are just super humans seeding life across the planets and they wanted to bomb Earth into oblivion because we killed Jesus Christ (who was a Space Jockey). And one of our androids then - possibly - goes to their home planet and bombs them to oblivion thus wiping out the human race. And they made Xenomorphs yadda yadda.

Prometheus in particular seems to despise the idea of space being a mystery, with the conversation David has with a scientist being plainly spelled out as the theme of the film: "Sometimes, humans/space jockeys just build shit, and it goes wrong I guess. No gods or mysteries here, just hubris."

Which, if handled well, is still a fascinating idea (I think it's a pretty interesting 'take-that' against the stupidity of Ancient Alien Conspiracy Theorists)... but it's not handled well. At all. And certainly doesn't work well when trying to write Xeno-Horror.

So, what COULD work?

Well, I think we need to look at how Alien and Aliens made the Xenomorphs, Space Jockey's, and Space itself all work.

For the xenomorphs, I think back to one scene I actually thought was interesting in Alien: Covenant; as a chestburster is born from a hapless scientist, it lays its eyes (???) on David and replicates his movements, mimicking the first living thing it witnesses. Nothing is ever done with this (of course), but think about the potential that could be used! Plenty of animals like crows, ravens, dolphins, octopi, killer whales etc etc can use mimicry in voices and actions, and that includes things like tool-use! And of course, the fact that they take on new forms from hosts helps with that.

For the Space Jockey's: scrap them. They had their time, the mystery is basically solved. Show us new and different alien civilizations long past. Were they also victims of the Xenomorphs? From some other threat entirely? Surely, there are extraterrestrial predators out there that don't follow the Xenomorph formula. Why not have them share the splotlight, with just as little explanation?

For space itself: stop with trying to recapture Alien and Aliens. Alien: Isolation is the only successor specifically because of the format of the medium. Alien and Aliens rely heavily on the shock factor of sudden reveals. Remove that, and you are given "bug hunt" games and movies ala discount Starship Trooper. Focus more on making human space feel almost alien and beyond our understanding as well, but just enough that we can recognize the purpose that we would have them for our society.

How I would write an Alien Story:

(This would all be backstory and setup for the actual story)

I would set it within a colony satellite with an explicit task: a skyscraper ecological time-capsule for deep space experimentation of wildlife.

It would have levels, with humans situated at the second uppermost and an AI as the manager at the top level of the satellite, with all the other animals in different levels fit for their habitats (including some non-earth, non-xenomorph aliens). It's a religious sponsored and run organization, offshoots of [Insert Church Here] that is trying to get good press with cutting edge AI and biological research.

The prize is an alien lifeform that looks like a cross between a crocodile and a panther. Usually docile when fed, it has been growing more and more agitated, harming several workers on the job. Most assume it may be some late-stage degenerative disease within it's brain.

Not all things are as it seems, as at the bottom of the station, a location no one but a select few faithful engineers are sent to maintain, a pod is damaged. A young attendant watches in shock and horror as a bloody and maimed chest burster crawls out of the pod, possibly having injured itself to burn through the lock. The creature is mewling in pain, but the young attendant makes a choice: leaving food, water, and blanket for the creature. Watching as the creature watches them, before going to feast. All under the gaze of a camera.

The xenomorph grows and grows, eating more, getting bolder and allowing its "caretaker" to feel more comfortable. Soon it begins to recognize certain sounds as they pray when he feasts, and association occurs. One day, its hiss sounds suspiciously like "Lord".

This is when the young attendant reaches out to higher, but trusted, priests to share this miraculous revelation. The first one is shocked, terrified, but intrigued as the creature mimics words like "Lord" and "Mighty". Barely audible, some would say hallucinatory, but they believe they can here this humanoid creature speak their language.

The second is equally shocked, terrified, but listens and becomes a believer.

The third one does not believe. Rightfully horrified and full of questions. Their arguments in front of the beast escalate into violence and when the young attendant shoves the priest to the ground, it is the Xenomorph that pounces. Blood is shed. the creature rises in front of it's faithful, and the Xenomorph uses the same sounds it heard over the fight. Lord. Mighty. Here-tik.

They can't be delusional or driven by guilt! This is a sign... right? This creature is speaking to them!

The faith grows. Never large. Can't risk word getting out or people noticing too many missing priests. The satellite is just barely large enough that people can excuse going missing for a few days between objectives.

But key individuals are brought in. The creature is worshiped. Animal offerings are delivered. It's changing, slowly. Growing larger (not a Xenomorph Queen, it's too maimed, but adapting to a steady diet).

Things might have escalated, had one of the priests killed not had an estranged sibling/spouse/loved one who had the pull to make a formal investigatory complaint.

The investigator arrives with his repertoire, this supposed garden of eden in deep space, none the wiser to what he would uncover. (Again, this would be the backstory, not revealed except through character investigations and evidence found during that. Defeats the purpose if it's spelled out like this).

It would play with the idea of how sapient/sentient the Xenomorphs are (do they care? do they understand? if not, why act like this? if yes, what does this mean for their continued slaughter), how much one puts into faith versus delusions, and leaves lingering questions: who put the xenomorph on the ship, why is the AI so complicit with the deaths and disappearances, and why is the one non-xenomorph alien acting so dangerously agitated despite being far away from the xenomorph's quarters?

[spoonie-arthour]

Murder drones fans come and get ur sticker!

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"attacked by peers."

no. these were not peers . these were bigots who knew what they did. they knew who nex was and decided to ruin their life for it.

and yet people still think being queer/trans is a choice. I will not choose to be assaulted for kissing men and I will not choose to be murdered for being trans.

Justice for nex and every queer person who has died for no reason other than hate fueled murder.

You are not saving children from being queer, you are killing them.

[spoonie-arthour]

The Ides of March is coming…

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why doesn't disenchantment have a bigger following on tumblr? it's literally so good and perfect to tumblr's tastes (good storytelling, character development, hot evil queens, hot pirate queens, wlw, bisexual rep, furries, etc etc etc)

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I AM SO MAD about people always shitting on adult animation series. Like literally SHUT UP about how adult animations have “zero representation” and “lack diversity” when there are SO MANY adult animated series that have all the things you’re looking for

Like bro just do some research and look harder

Obviously my bias is Bob’s Burgers so let’s start with that as an example: SO MUCH diversity (body types, implied neurodivergence, etc) and representation in this show and the fan base is so minimal?? Like what??

Not to mention Tuca and Bertie, Futurama, Bojack Horseman, etc etc etc

(Inside Job, Disenchantment, THE GREAT NORTH, The Midnight Gospel, Human Resources, and sooooo many more)

Everyone is CONSTANTLY complaining about the lack of good adult animated shows but then never give most of these ones the time of day. I genuinely don’t get it! If you’re so mad about how crass and bigoted all the mainstream shows are, why are you still watching them? There are so many amazing adult animated series that are so diverse and representative of so many different communities more and half of them get canceled because all the internet talks about are the big TV shows like Family Guy, South Park, The Simpsons, etc (not dissing anyone who likes these shows btw, I am an occasional watcher myself)

How about we stop complaining about the lack of diversity in adult animation and actually watch the shows that are giving us what we want?

I’m not at all saying that all these that I mentioned are without flaws. They all have them! But what I AM saying is that maybe we should stop letting networks cancel the shows with what we are asking for because they aren’t getting any traction.

Let’s not insult an ENTIRE GENRE of television series just because the mainstream ones aren’t necessarily what we want anymore.

And let’s talk about the animation styles. STOP TALKING ABOUT HOW UGLY THEY ARE. Yeah, I get it, they’re not always the prettiest but the diversity of body types and races in shows like Bob’s Burgers etc is amazing. Like holy crap it frustrates me when people file down all the good aspects of TV shows just because they sometimes have weird animations. Like please, remember that art in and of itself is diverse and there are so many talented people that are putting so much work into creating these literal masterpieces

The point I’m trying to make is, maybe stop giving shows like Big Mouth so much attention (even if it’s negative) and watch the ones that are literally giving you what you want. Like guys, stop letting networks cancel great series just because you prefer to complain about the “bad things” and refuse to acknowledge the good ones

[spoonie-arthour]

I've been watching so many animated movies/series that whenever I watch live action I just feel like it's low quality 😅

So yeah, animation good, live action got kinda boring...

[spoonie-arthour]

Nimona was so good. Like really. Go watch if you haven't already, or rewatch it. Do it. Seriously this movie made me laugh, cry and ugly sob ( yes there is a difference between crying and ugly sobbing) and all of that in a hour and a half. It was amazing. So amazing that it even managed to gain the n°1 place for my favorite movie ever. That place was previously held by How to train your dragon (wich as anyone who knows me irl is aware that it has been my favorite movie since I was a child). But somehow this movie about making people and society accept you and respect you and depicting a beautiful trans allegory just hit me in the feels. I think I'm gonna post a lot about it.

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Ok so we all agree the nimona movie was awesome. And so was the music. Not playing on repeat on my speakers at all...

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Such a great movie, nice to see it being celebrated with this cool mug

Goncharov 20oz Tumbler • $20.00

There is something so comforting about your favorite movie. A movie that you can watch over and over again and never get tired of. Celebrate your favorite movie (Goncharov) with this tumbler.

Choose from over 16 different colors

20 oz. stainless steel tumbler

Double-wall vacuum insulation with a clear lid

Narrower bottom to fit most standard cup holder

Special Thanks

Thank you to the people in this thread who gave feedback and turned my meh idea into something much better.

[spoonie-arthour]

The Owl House: a show about grief, fun for the whole family

[spoonie-arthour]

Please make it happen

Images I would sell my soul to see in the credits for the series finale (feel free to add on):

Raeda wedding

A series of photos in the Noceda house: first Camila, Luz, and Manny, then just Camila and Luz, then Camila, Luz, Vee, and Hunter

The Emerald Entrails playing flyer derby with Camila cheering them on in the background

Eda teaching Hunter how to carve a new (wolf) palisman

Hunter showing Darius how to use a sewing machine

Vee showing Masha her true form

Willow showing her dads her scrapbook from the human realm

Luz and Amity going to pride

Camila taking Luz, Amity, Gus, and Hunter to a con

Steve chasing Matt, who has stolen his motorcycle

A huge and chaotic family dinner with Eda, Raine, King, Luz, Camila, Vee, and Hunter

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When Luz said "I just wanted to be understood" I was like "I relate to that" and then I was like "Oh God, I relate to that!"