#Also I highly recommend watching these movies in their original language if you can find them with subtitles in your language.

[younggayanddoingokay]

Attention: just because Netflix only has the Hindi dubs of some South Indian Films, that doesn’t make it Bollywood!!! If it was made in south India, it’s a South Indian film and should be referred to by the name used for films from its respective location/language, ex tollywood, sandalwood, etc.

[deevotee]

Hey!!

I am new to the fandom and it’s kind of hard keeping track of every material there is and in which order to consume it, if you don’t mind, can you pls help? 🥲

How many manga episodes are there and where I can read it for free in English? Also how many anime seasons with how many eps each? And where to steam the (again, for free. I am broke sry 😭)

I know this is an extensive ask but I find Wikipedia to be unreliable and feels it’s best to ask a dedicated fan instead. Also I prefer consuming things chronologically and feel like it’s better to ask what is the best way to go about reading/watching

Sorry for the English, it’s my third language and thank you so much if you do end up answering!!!

It’s kind of a lot to ask, so feel free to ignore :)

Hello welcome to the fandom!! And don't worry about your english ever here i am not one to judge ^^

So I already have links compiled to read and watch Black Butler here: Resources You'll find them in the 'Sites for More Content' document on the first page of the drive, and I went through and added a bit more info in that document on how volumes vs chapters work for you and others

As for the storyline itself, I HIGHLY recommend starting with the manga first as it is very consistent and straightforward with the story! Meaning there is no extra info you need to consume to get the full story only fun little extras here and there sometimes, and the manga is considered the actual canon and what you will see most of the fandom referencing and talking about There are currently 31 volumes, 201 chapters and it is still ongoing! Meaning a new chapter releases every month (good to block the kuro spoilers tag if you dont want to see them)

The anime is still fun to watch but it is definitely way more complicated storywise and the reason for that is that the first 2 seasons were made when the manga was still in early chapters so they took notes from the creator of the various storylines and backstories that was planned and kind of created a different storyline with it, so I'll try to give you a concise rundown on what episodes follow the manga and what doesn't

The anime seasons are usually listed as follows: Season 1 - Kuroshitsuji Season 1 OVA - Kuroshitsuji OVA Season 2 - Kuroshitsuji 2 Season 2 OVAs - Kuroshitsuji 2 OVAs/Specials Season 3 - Kuroshitsuji Book of Circus Season 4 - Kuroshitsuji Book of Murder Season 5/Movie - Kuroshitsuji Book of the Atlantic

Season 1 Episodes 1-6: Follows the manga's Red Butler Arc (mostly), chapters 1-13

Season 1 Episodes 7-12: Does not follow manga canon, original anime storylines

Season 1 Episodes 13-15: Follows the manga's Curry Arc (mostly), chapters 15-22

Season 1 Episodes 16-24: Does not follow manga canon, original anime storylines

Season 1 OVA: Does not follow manga canon, original anime storylines

Season 2 episodes 1-12: Does not follow manga canon, all original anime storylines

Season 2 OVAs 1-6: Does not follow manga canon, all orginal anime storylines

Seasons 1 and 2 are considered a separate storyline/alternate universe and will be ignored for all the seasons after it, which is what confuses most people

Season 3 Episodes 1-10: Completely follows manga canon, picks up after the Curry Arc and into the manga's Circus Arc, chapters 24-36

Season 4 OVA's Episodes 1-2: Follows the manga's Murder Mystery Arc, chapters 38-50

Season 5/Movie - Follows the manga's Campania Arc, chapters 51-65

The newest season is expected to follow the manga's Boarding School Arc which is chapters 66-84

I hope that covers everything and is easy to understand, but please feel free to send another ask or a DM if you have any questions! I'm all for helping people understand and get into kuro, it's such a fun storyline and I hope you have a good time with it <3

[allaboutcinderella]

3 Wishes For Cinderella (or) 3 Hazelnuts For Cinderella!

I feel like this is a version of Cinderella a lot of people don’t know about!

(Recently remade but we’re not gonna talk about that…. 😂😅)

This original version is from 1973 starring the lovely Libuše Šafránková as Cinderella or “Popelka” as the native Czech language of the film would say, is one film I would highly recommend if you’re a Cinderella fan!

It’s a dreamy film with gorgeous scenery, pretty music and a very cute spin on the tale.

Instead of a fairy godmother Cinderella has an adorable (presumably magical) owl friend and a branch with 3 hazelnuts on it. Each hazelnut is used for a wish Cinderella makes.

🌰 The first, is a set of hunting clothes so she may disguise herself as a boy so she may ride her horse in peace without getting in trouble - upon doing this she runs into the prince and beats him in an archery contest, winning a ring.

🌰 The second, her ballgown. She iconically rides her white stallion to the castle in a gorgeous dress of silver and pink, with a flowing pink cloak (and it’s *chefs kiss*) - no glass slippers here! But she does lose a shoe.

🌰 The third and last, her wedding dress. Upon the Prince chasing her and finding her house, he tries the shoe on everyone in the household and she makes a grand entrance on her horse now in her stunning wedding dress, wearing the ring she won in the archery contest. He then realizes it was always her and slips the shoe on her.

They ride off into their happily ever after.

This whole movie is so gorgeous and light hearted. Unlike other Cinderella movies it takes place in the winter. So you have beautiful snow and the sight of a white horse striding through snowy covered pines is just 🤌🏻✨.

Something else I want to note about this take on the story, is that it pays tribute to the original German tale. Cinderella has birds help her sort lentils which is nice to see!

I can easily say Libuše Šafránková is one of the prettiest Cinderellas I have EVER seen. She’s so adorable and just does a great job as the character.

It’s also worth noting that in this film they actually made Cinderella dirty! It sounds silly but it’s something that’s not seen nearly enough with newer remakes (which I don’t understand), and one of the big things about the character look is that she is covered in cinders or dirt. It makes the transition to her princess look all the more effective in my opinion. Don’t you agree? It makes it that much better as far as details go.

There is an English dub of the film on YouTube but it’s done by 1 guy and he cute clips from the movie. Still it’s something. Or you can also watch it in its native language with no subtitles which may be more difficult to understand but regardless it’s still a good movie!

[songsofwaterandnight]

Thanks for tagging me @imaniascending ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

• Tea, coffee or soda:

Coffee for energy and Tea for feeling better. I try to avoid Soda because it has enough sugar to murder a Victorian child.

• Dogs or cats?

I love both but cats are my favorite. Throughout my entire tumblr run "cats" has been my most popular tag no matter what else I was obsessed with(yes even during my mitski phase that made me the second blog that showed up when you searched for mitski). I love that they can be capricious and finicky like people. I think that gives them a wide range of personalities and that's very charming to me. I'm also 90% sure I have that germ that they give you to make you love them and I'm fine with that.

• Can you play a music instrument?: Does shaking the tambourines in church(when I used to go) confidently yet incompetently count? I also know like half of a song on Kalimba.

• What’s your star sign?:

No U-turns

• First lyric that pops up in your head: "Pussy talented; it do cartwheels" from Pussy Talk by City Girls feat. Doja Cat

• Do you have any tattoos?:

Nah and my interests change too much for me to ever pin down something I want painted on my body forever.

• What’s the last film you watched?:

Live action: "Nope" . Thematically amazing and it had a very strong start but it did lose some of its edge when they revealed the true nature of the horror they were facing. I think about different things from this movie a lot and I haven't fully processed all of them yet. I highly recommend it.

Animated: "Constantine: City of Demons". It was very meh. Not a lot of magic from the main character and I didn't really find any of the themes original or interesting. I was hoping this movie would give me more insight to Constantine as a DC character but he just seems boring and british tbh. I don't recommend it.

• What languages do you speak?: English and Jamaican Creole.

• Do you have hobbies?:

Outside of media consumption and media interpretation, I'm a writer(allegedly haha) and I hangout with friends when it's safe to.

• You can hang out with a fictional character for one hour, who do you choose?:

Bayonetta Beta 1(the one from Japan). Her very short appearance in the third game screams "I love to have fun"(she's dressed like a rollerskater and her weapon is a yoyo). To be fair, hanging out with any version of Bayonetta would probably be fun but she just seems the most fun. Like we'd go interdimensional rollerskating or something🛼

Compliment yourself:

You're cute and doing an excellent job of pacing yourself and knowing your limits💕🫂

Tags if you want to!: @mystiqdreamer @iridiiscente @5eanathan @flying-bi-son @virgo-dicks @trekwiz @startorrent02 @jimothysomebody @gaybluemage @shiny-rhydon @tuna-core @universalinvariant @paldea-region @senil888 @cobaltdays @lycentropy @gravityjunior @freddkong

[sparktober]

It's back: Sparktober Bingo! 🥳

Like last year, I collected a bunch of 2022 -tober prompt lists into one google doc here. (Links to original prompt lists, where you'll find their hashtags and AO3 collections, are on the google doc! The prompt lists are top-notch this year so I highly recommend checking out the originals.)

Add in a list of Atlantis episodes, crank up the soft-serve machine, and…

How to Play:

Choose a mix of “flavors” from the prompt sets below the cut, then paste it into this fandom bingo card generator.

Adjust your browser size til it looks right and take a screenshot!

Sparktober Bingo Rules: (there are no rules)

Complete a row/column, corners, or a blackout of your card by November 1, or not! Update as you go. Spontaneously declare victory whenever you feel accomplished.

Tag #sparktober if you want us to reblog your bingo card & creations!

All fan-works are allowed: art, edits, fic, meta...

You are allowed to pull multiple cards until you get one that inspires you, and you can also edit the prompt list as much as you want in advance to suit your likes and dislikes. I recommend not googling unfamiliar words from your work computer.

Because we are sourcing from multiple lists, prompts may be duplicated and occur more than once. If you get the same prompt twice in the same card, you're legally obligated to fill it. (definitely kidding)

Use the prompts liberally! Episode titles can be treated as the episode or as generic prompts (e.g. “Epiphany” can be for an episode-related fic or a prompt for an epiphany of your choice).

Flavor descriptions:

The prompt lists are below, in the following text blocks. Copy any or all of them into the bingo card generator!

VANILLA: Gen prompt lists from Fictober, Inktober, Flufftober Trektober Gen, Trektober Trek, and Spirktober.

CHOCOLATE: Smut themed prompt lists from Trektober NSFW and two Kinktober lists (links in google doc!).

ROCKY ROAD: Whump prompts from whumptober! The multiple-choice-prompts-per-day have been broken into individual prompts.

ASTRONAUT ICE CREAM: Atlantis episode list (in order, in case you only want to copy certain seasons), along with Atlantis and SG-1 characters and a few franchise-specific prompts.

TWIST: All of the above! For this flavor, copy and paste everything below the readmore. :)

Mod note: If you're mixing and matching, make sure there's a semi-colon (;) between your prompts. If you have semi-colons without prompts, you might end up with blank spaces. If you get a server error when using the bingo card generator, have some ice cream and try again!

Enjoy!!!

Vanilla;

“I chose you.”; “Nobody warned you about me?”; “That was not my intention.”; “How would that even work?”; “No, anything but that.”; “Adaptable, I like that.”; “Check that again, are you sure?”; “Do you remember?”; “Sounds like a you problem.”; “It’s my name on the line.”; “Think! For once!”; “You’re making my head hurt.”; “I don’t want you to do that.”; “Yes. No. I don’t know.”; “What are you doing?”; “You’re looking, but you don’t see.”; “Are you serious?”; “I don’t think this is your problem.”; “Do we have a deal?”; “There’s only us.”; “I never said that.”; “Who said this is a good idea?”; “Not on my watch!”; “Is this safe?”; “You know I’d do anything.”; “I’m doing it, shut up.”; “That’s not why we’re doing this.”; “We all have our reasons.”; “You love this, don’t you?”; “I know what this looks like.”; “I’m not alone and neither are you.”; Gargoyle; Scurry; Bat; Scallop; Flame; Bouquet; Trip; Match; Nest; Crabby; Eagle; Forget; Kind; Empty; Armadillo; Fowl; Salty; Scrape; Ponytail; Bluff; Bad Dog; Heist; Booger; Fairy; Tempting; Ego; Snack; Camping; Uh-Oh; Gear; Farm; Wearing Each Other's Clothes; "You've told your parents?"; Thick as Thieves; Supporting Silly Quirks / Hobbies; "Oh no, you're a Morning Person!"; Candles, Lanterns, Fairy Lights; Movie Marathon; Shooting Stars; Game Day (Sports); Love Language; Poetry, Art, Music, Craft; "You kept this?"; Secret Family Recipe; Truth or Dare / 20 Questions; Accidents don't just happen accidentally...; "I hate you" - "I love you too"; Animal Shelter; Soulmate AU; Hot Chocolate; Bedtime Stories; Kiss for Good Luck; "Have you heard?"; POV Outsider; All the Hugs; First Dance; Blankets; Reunion; Picnic; Leaves; Dear Diary; A Sweet Treat; Slow Dancing; Caught in the Rain; Falling Asleep Together; Up Against the Wall Kiss; Winning a Teddy for the Other; Hands; Sparring; Away Mission; Underwater; Chess; Rank Swap; Dancing; Shore Leave; Regency AU; Mindmeld; Date Night; Flirting; Snow; Hiding; Comfort; Touching; Hair; Kissing; Protect; Garden; Pon Farr; Fantasy AU; Spooning; Mirrorverse; Old & Married; Time Travel; Feline; Royalty AU; Injured; Home; Costumes; Phobias; Vampire AU; Cottagecore Vibes; Secret Relationship; Meet Ugly; Love Letters; Coffee Shop; Historical AU; Only One Bed; Monster Hunters; Fake Dating; Panic Attack; Autumn; Internet Friendship; Hurt / Comfort; Marriage Proposal; Anniversary; Secret Identity; Band AU; Sleepy Kisses; Clothes Sharing; Witch AU; Deities AU; Old Married Couple; Sickfic; Soulmates; New Neighbours; Time Travel; Farm AU; Hiding Injuries; AI Malfunction; Series Crossover; Biobed; Promotion / Demotion; Emotionally Compromised; Spacewalk; Crew As Family; Space Madness; Red Alert; Academy Era; Hostile Aliens; Mirrorverse; Away Missions; Aliens Made Them Do It; Shuttle Crash; Gamma Shift; Strange Energies; Annual Physical; Transporter Malfunction; Stranded; Court Martial; Observation Deck; Wetsuits; Prison Planet; Escape Pod; Bridge; Decontamination; Out Of Uniform; Transmission; Section 31; Captain's Log;

Chocolate;

Collars; Humping; Costumes / Roleplay; Lace; D/s; Bottoming From The Top; Safeword; Trick or Treat; Body Worship; In A Vehicle; Somnophilia; Overstimulation; Temperature Play; Intercrural; Friends With Benefits; First Time; Morning After; Fucking Machine; Tattoos / Piercings; Mirror Sex; Striptease; Possessiveness; (Semi) Public; Wall Sex; Body Swap; Nipple Play; Sexting; Fingering; Sex Fails; Aphrodisiacs; Biting; Stripteases; Lapdances; Lingerie; Sending / Receiving Suggestive Imagery; Seduction; Dirty Talk; Dancing; Marking Territory; Caught In The Act; Infidelity; Cuckoldry; Making Someone Jealous; Hate Sex; Angry Sex; Break-Up Sex; Sparring; Using Weapons; Orgasm Denial; Restraints; Multiple Orgasms; Overstimulation; Threesome or Moresome; Pampering; Servicing; Morning Sex; Clothes On; Lovemaking; Erotic Massage; Solo Sex; Mutual Masturbation; Baths / Showers; Keeping Quiet; Food; Blood-Drinking; Oral Sex; Drunk or High Sex; Multiple Rounds; Mirror Sex; Exhibitionism; Public Sex; Getting Loud; Costumes or Masks; 69; A/B/O; Anal; Breath Play; Breeding; Cockwarming; Costumes; Creampie; Double Penetration; Drunk Sex; Erotic Photos; Exhibitionism / Voyeurism; Face Sitting / Fucking; Fisting; Group Sex; Bath / Shower Sex; Licking; Bondage; Boot Worship; Dirty Dancing; Nipple Play; Object Insertion; Food Play; Outdoor Sex; Pet Play; Sexting; Sensory Deprivation; Formal Wear; Body Worship; Public Sex; Dirty Talk; Floor Sex; Glove Kink; Missionary; Leather / Latex; Morning Sex; Sex Toys; Voice Kink; Stripping; Spanking; Rimming; Hate / Angry Sex; Dry Humping; Love Bites / Marks; Overstimulation; Intercrural Sex; Pegging; Lingerie; Masturbation; Mirror Sex; Praise Kink; Phone Sex; Orgasm Denial; Tender Sex; Sex Pollen; Wax Play; Stockings; Strap-Ons; Table Sex; Temperature Play;

Rocky Road;

A Little Out Of The Ordinary; Adverse Effects; Unconventional Restraints; "This wasn't supposed to happen."; Nowhere to Run; Cornered; Caged; Confrontation; Hair's Breadth from Death; Gun to Temple; "Say goodbye."; Impaled; Dead On Your Feet; Hidden Injury; Waking Up Disoriented; Can't Pass Out; Every Whumpee's Needs; Blood Loss; Running Out of Air; Hyperthermia; Proof of Life; Ransom Video; "I've got a pulse."; Screams from Across the Hall; The Way You Shake And Shiver; Shaking Hands; Seizures; Silent Panic Attack; Everything Hurts And I'm Dying; Stomach Pain; Head Trauma; Back from the Dead; The Very Noisy Night; Sleeping in Shifts; Tossing and Turning; Caught in a Storm; Poor Unfortunate Souls; Taser; Whipping; Waterboarding; "911, what's your emergency?"; Sloppy Bandages; Self-Done First Aid; Makeshift Splint; What Could Go Wrong?; "Mayday, mayday!"; Cave-In; Rusty Nail; Can't Make An Omelette...; Fracture; Dislocation; "Are you here to break me out?"; Die a Hero or Live Long Enough to Become a Villain; Desperate Measures; Failed Escape; "I'll be right behind you."; Emotional Damage; Lies; New Scars; Breathing Through the Pain; No Way Out; Mind Control; Paralytic Drugs; "No one's coming."; Hanging by a Threat; Breaking Point; Stress Positions; Reluctant Caretaker; Let's Break the Ice; "Just get it over with."; Treading Water; "Take my coat."; Enough is Enough; Knees Buckling; Repeatedly Passing Out; Head Lolling; It's Been A Long Day; Going Into Shock; Fetal Position; Prisoner Trade; Famous Last Words; Coughing Up Blood; "You're safe now."; "Take me instead."; Pick Your Poison; Toxic; Withdrawal; Allergic Reaction; At the End of Their Rope; Forced to Kneel; Tied to a Table; "Hold them down."; Fight, Flight, or Freeze; Blood Covered Hands; "I don't want to do this anymore."; Catatonic; Silence is Golden; Lost Voice; Duct Tape; "You better start talking."; No One Left Behind; Separated; Rope Burns; "Why did you save me?"; Pushed to the Limit; Muffled Screams; Stumbling; Magical Exhaustion; It's Just the Tip of the Iceberg; Anger Born of Worry; Punching the Wall; Headache; What Doesn't Kill Me...; Sleep Deprivation; Defiance; "Better me than you."; Note to Self: Don't Get Kidnapped; Manhandled; Hair Grabbing; "Please don't touch me."; A Light at the End of the Tunnel; Comfort; Bedside Vigil; "You can rest now."; Ringing Ears; Whimpering; Dazed and Confused; Touch Starved; Ambushed; Sensory Overload; Protective; Made to Watch; Quicksand; Adrenaline Crash; Stabbed; Carried to Safety; Crutches; Emergency Blanket; Tears;

Astronaut Ice Cream;

Rising Part 1; Rising Part 2; Hide and Seek; Thirty-Eight Minutes; Suspicion; Childhood’s End; Poisoning the Well; Underground; Home; The Storm; The Eye; The Defiant One; Hot Zone; Sanctuary; Before I Sleep; The Brotherhood; Letters from Pegasus; The Gift; The Siege Part 1; The Siege Part 2; The Siege Part 3; The Intruder; Runner; Duet; Condemned; Trinity; Instinct; Conversion; Aurora; The Lost Boys; The Hive; Epiphany; Critical Mass; Grace Under Pressure; The Tower; The Long Goodbye; Coup d'Etat; Michael; Inferno; Allies; No Man’s Land; Misbegotten; Irresistible; Sateda; Progeny; The Real World; Common Ground; McKay and Mrs. Miller; Phantoms; The Return Part 1; The Return Part 2; Echoes; Irresponsible; Tao of Rodney; The Game; The Ark; Sunday; Submersion; Vengeance; First Strike; Adrift; Lifeline; Reunion; Doppelganger; Travelers; Tabula Rasa; Missing; The Seer; Miller’s Crossing; This Mortal Coil; Be All My Sins Remember’d; Spoils of War; Quarantine; Harmony; Outcast; Trio; Midway; The Kindred Part 1; The Kindred Part 2; The Last Man; Search and Rescue; The Seed; Broken Ties; The Daedalus Variations; Ghost in the Machine; The Shrine; Whispers; The Queen; Tracker; First Contact; The Lost Tribe; Outsiders; Inquisition; The Prodigal; Remnants; Brain Storm; Infection; Identity; Vegas; Enemy at the Gate; Ronon Dex; Teyla Emmagan; John Sheppard; Carson Beckett; Elizabeth Weir; Rodney McKay; Jennifer Keller; Samantha Carter; Aiden Ford; Radek Zelenka; Kate Heightmeyer; Evan Lorne; Laura Cadman; Kolya; Chuck; Peter Grodin; Steven Caldwell; Richard Woolsey; Samantha Carter; Jack O’Neill; Teal’c; Daniel Jackson; Janet Fraiser; George Hammond; Hank Landry; Carolyn Lam; Vala; Cameron Mitchell; Jonas Quinn; Lantea; Ocean; Ancient(s); Athosians; Daedalus; Wraith; Nanites; Asurans; Genii; DHD; SGC; Stargate; Earth; Antarctica; Ascension; Goa’uld; Ori;

[popopretty]

The Day I Picked Up Dazai - Side B (4)

Links to Parts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Final

This is the translation from page 36 to page 48 of Side B of the Dazai novel which was given out as free bonus for those who come to the cinema to watch the BEAST live action movie in Japan.

I HIGHLY recommend you to read Side A first before moving on to this one more context, better understanding, and easier comparison between the two sides. You can find the link to the tag with all Side A translations I have done in my pinned post.

Please also carefully read the notes below before progressing. - This post contains spoilers. If you plan to read the novel later yourself and think this would ruin your expectation, please stop here.

· I tried to keep the translation as accurate as possible, but as I don’t speak English or Japanese as my native language, I may make some mistakes or use weird words etc. This translation might not be final. I may come back and fix it later if I find any mistakes.

· This is a moviegoers-only benefit, so please be extra careful when discussing it about on Twitter. Use a #spoilers tag on your tweets or your fanarts. You can share the links to this post but don’t take many screenshots.

· Don’t retranslate it. [UPDATE MAY 9, 2023] You can retranslate it but please keep in mind that my translation is not perfect and some meanings will be lost through re-translation. If you are not sure about the meaning at any part, please let me know! Don’t repost this translation anywhere else out of Tumblr.

· DON’T GO TO THE AUTHORS’ OR OFFICIAL TWITTERS TO COMMENT ABOUT THE CONTENTS OF IT.

I’m sorry if that’s too much but honestly all I want is for everyone to have a good experience, for those who wants to read the novels to be able to read the novels, and for those who don’t want to be spoiled, to be safe from it as much as possible.

If you have read and are okay with all the above, please continue to move forward and enjoy the novel. Have a good day!

...

I open my eyes to an indescribable discomfort.

I am in a temporary cell used to keep the prisoners in the war.

Originally, it must have been a simple nap room inside the bunker to protect yourself from air strikes and such. The room is about the size of a hotel room, with only a rusty bed frame fixed to the end. The entrance door has been replaced by an iron door with fresh welding marks, and there is a thick chain used for boat anchoring and a huge lock hanging from the doorknob. A number of black power lines are wrapped around the hooks lining up on the wall, leading to the murky cage lamp at the back of the room. That is the only light source. There is no air conditioning, so the air in the room is unclean.

And I am being locked up in the middle of that room. There is no sound, except for the melancholic buzzing from the lights. The gloomy time is passing by me, wearing a gloomy expression.

I finally realize where that feeling of discomfort comes from. It is too quiet. It has been almost two hours without me hearing anyone’s footsteps, or anyone’s voices. There is no sign left of the hostile and conciliatory atmosphere I felt when I first came here. I stand up and put my ears to the entrance door. Still no sign of anyone.

That is when I cannot help but noticing a fact. A fact that puts my mind in confusion. How am I supposed to interpret this situation?

The lock on the door has been broken.

I poke the chain. It makes a rattling noise and falls to the ground. Same goes with the lock that ties it to the front door. As I turn the knob and push it, the iron creaks as if it is protesting, before it slowly opens.

I indulge myself in thoughts for a while. Just because the door is open does not mean that I have to leave the room. I can also wait here. However, what am I supposed to wait for in that case? For the next chance to be hurt? Or perhaps, a chance to give the guys who have abducted and kept me here a speech, to appreciate their hard work?

In the end, I decide to go out. My two hands are still cuffed but it doesn’t hinder my movement at all.

The underground bunker is long and intricate, like the inside of an unknown underworld creature.

I find my way through the dimly lit corridor. Occasionally, black insects would scurry away near my hands. I can hear the sound of water dripping somewhere.

A wind is blowing inside the shelter. It is a cold and moist wind that smells depressing like someone’s breath.

I thought I was getting lost. But I am not. I have found a sign.

That is a huge arrow, drawn messily on the ground where the route parts. I walk up to it and try touching it with my hand. That is blood. Someone has drawn that arrow by blood, so big that no one can miss it. The blood hasn’t dried yet. It has not been there for that long.

Looking in that direction, I immediately understand the meaning of that arrow. Someone is lying over there.

I rush over to the person, thinking they might not be alive anymore.

He is lying on his side. I can tell his two hands have been messed up even before I am able to get close. His skin is peeling off, exposing the flesh beneath. The skin from the elbows to the wrists, on the backs and the palms of his hands are torn off as if they have been clamped by something. However, the other parts of his arms are almost intact. I wonder what kind of attack he has got to end up in this condition.

There are huge holes on both of his feet that pierce through his shoes. The holes go all the way to the soles, where it is still bleeding a little bit. I am shocked.

Dead bodies do not bleed. The fact that he is bleeding means that the man is still alive.

I flip him over. I remember that face. He is one of the cops who attacked my house, the younger one. And now he is collapsing here.

“Wake up. Who did this to you?”

As I tap his cheek, the young cop slightly opens his eyes.

His face is pale as if all the blood has drained off, but he finally manages to focus his gaze. That gaze catches me. It takes him a few more seconds to understand the meaning of what he is seeing.

“Stop it!”

The cop suddenly pushes me and retreats to roll. Taking short and fast breath, he desperately tries to run away on those limbs that are no longer acting on his will.

“Hey, wait!”

“Don’t come any closer! Please stop! I beg you!”

“Wait! Calm down! I am not going to hurt you” I approach and grab him by the shoulder.

I brush aside his raging, resisting arms, and stare into his eyes, “Who did this to you? This is your hideout, isn’t it? What happened to the others?”

The cop finally regains some of his sense. His eyes gradually come into focus and move quickly from side to side, trying to grasp the situation around him.

“Where… Where is that guy? Isn’t he your friend?”

“That guy?”

I follow the cop’s eyes and check around. But nobody is there.

This is a big storage room. It used to be a huge space for storing water and food for evacuation. Now it is just a huge empty space with nothing stored inside. The pillars that are too big for a single person to hold, are lining up like lifeless ancient soldiers.

“He… he said… that there is no escape.” The cop speaks in an exaggerated, flat voice, as if he is delirious due to a fever. “He also said, if I don’t want everyone here to be killed, I have to tell him where the painting is.”

“Everyone?”

I look around. There is no one here. “Where are the other guys?”

The cop shakes his head in fear. Then he points his finger to the back of the room.

I stand up and look. It is only darkness over there. At the end of the dim light is an exit connecting to a corridor, which is submerged in an even deeper darkness.

I walk to that direction. I have a premonition.

As I reach the end of that corridor, I light a match to sweep off the darkness. Before I can even see the floor, I already understand what is there.

A man is lying face down as if he is drowning in a pool of blood. His arms stretch out powerlessly, and he lies in the puddle of blood as if he is taking a nap on top of a cloud. Behind him, there is another one. This one is curving up in the shape of the number nine, folding his two arms in. I can smell more blood in the darkness beyond that.

I have a hunch.

Could it be… that everyone in this underground hideout has been taken down?

I approach a man near me and check his pulse. He is alive, even though it does not look much like that from the amount of blood loss. He is breathing faintly. I observe him. His whole body has been cut dozens of times by a sharp blade. However, the cuts are perpendicular to the blood vessels. When you cut it that way, it will reduce the bleeding relatively quickly. The bleeding areas were also carefully selected to avoid the arteries. It reminds me of an artwork created by a top painter. Delivering pain through thoroughly calculated moves, to prevent the person from dying. He didn’t stay alive. He was kept alive. A first-class work. By someone from the dark side of the world who possesses a different set of skills from mine.

These guys must have been prepared for violence and attacks. So, for them to be easily devoured like this, not to mention be tortured in such a way that they couldn’t die, what kind of attackers could that be? And what is their purpose?

The cop just now was threatened that everyone would be killed if he didn’t tell the whereabouts of the painting. In other words, the one who tortured him wants the information I have about the painting. It means he is my enemy.

Suddenly, I feel like someone who get lost in the freezing cold weather at the top of a mountain, with only his underwear on. Having nothing to cover for myself, nor a way to escape. Far beyond the pale darkness, a mysterious monster is waiting to tear me into pieces.

I quickly make my way back. I will ask the still conscious cop for directions and get out of here. That way, the torturer who is targeting me may leave here too, sparing these dying people.

However, before I can get back to the cop, the whole tunnel shakes.

A shock, followed by a rumble. I can’t stand straight, so I have to hold on to the wall. As far as my eyes can see, the concrete is shaking and starts falling off into pieces.

“It… started.” I hear a voice. That is from the young cop I just met. I turn to him.

The cop is shivering. Those eyes look like they know for sure the world is coming to an end. I help him stand up. He starts ranting like a sick man with a high fever, without looking at anywhere.

“They are coming. They are coming. We are all gonna be killed. He uses fear. He uses your imagination. No one can win against their own imagination. He is going to siege all the exits and burn us to death.”

“Hey. Get yourself together! Who is he? What is going to happen now?”

The cop looks at me. The light in his eyes is pale and white, the light of fear that has swollen from his depth, to the point that it is almost transmitted to me.

“He is from Port Mafia.”

Port Mafia.

I am not so ignorant that I don’t understand the meaning of those words.

They are like the night wind that flows through the darkest parts of this city. They will follow you wherever you go in the darkness and rip off your throat with those fangs. The Apostles of Death that no living things can resist. And they are coming this way.

Another sound of raid. The place shudders like the internal organs of a giant creature in convulsion, cracks running across the wall. Apparently, we don’t have as much time as I thought.

“So, it is like this.” I say to the cop. “Soon enough this place will be surrounded, and the Port Mafia will come and kill all of us. However, if I spit out the whereabouts of the painting, everyone will be saved.”

“I… I think so.” The cop replies with a pale face. “It’s not like that guy wants to take anyone’s life. To him, our lives are worth less than the weeds out there... I beg you. Please save me. I will leave this organization. No matter how much I can earn from crimes, I don’t want to be in the same world with that monster anymore. So, please help me. I don’t want to die just yet.”

I look at that young cop. He is frightened from the bottom of his heart. The fear has overshadowed his personality, transforming him from a full-grown man into a life form that only knows how to tremble.

Beyond the light of his eyes, I can see the guy. The guy who controls fear. The devil of Port Mafia. He is manipulating the cop by a thread of fear and speaking to me.

_Give me the painting._

“I refuse.” I start speaking. “First, I can’t stand the way he tries to subdue others with violence. Second, that painting is not mine. It belongs to someone else. It is not something I can freely use to trade for my life. Third, that painting does not hold that much of a value anymore. It is probably not even worth fifty thousand yen, let alone five hundred million. Even if I give them the painting, I don’t think those guys will let us go.”

“Still! If you don’t give them the painting, everyone will be killed now…”

“Forth.” I cut off the cop’s sentence. “They will not kill me. Even under this circumstance. Because I am the only one who knows where the painting is. Port Mafia may surround this area and kill everyone here. But they will have to keep me alive. Because that information exists only in my head. However, if I tell you where the painting is now, the secret will no longer be mine only, and my life’s value will drop. Then it will become a matter of luck whether Port Mafia will let me live or not.”

“You… what are you talking about?” the man’s voice almost becomes a scream. “Then what about me? What will happen to us?”

“You are criminals.” I speak in a suppressed tone. “Even if you are going to be shallowed up by a more sinister organization, it is just the law of nature.”

“You…!”

The cop, still lying down, quickly pulls out a hidden gun. He points it at me.

I take one step back and observe the gun. That is a black, 9mm automatic pistol. The muzzle is firmly pointed at me. As it is an automatic gun, there is no need to cock it. Even with an injured arm, he can probably fire one shot with no problem.

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” I put my hands up and say. “If I die, the information will be lost. There is no point to threaten me with a gun.”

“Yeah, that’s right. That’s why you are saying things all high and mighty like that.” There is the color of obsessive desperation in his eyes. “You think that you are the only one to secure a safe place for yourself. I hate that. On the other hand, what about me? I am gonna die for sure. Whether you say anything or not. If it is going down that way, then I will shoot you right here to lighten up my mood a little before I die. How about that? Can you still say such privileged thing?”

In silence, I look down at the man, at the desperation, at the screaming and pleading of a human wishing to live. He will really shoot me. Without a doubt. It is absolutely as certain as how the dawn will come as long as you wait.

“Now, speak.”

“All right.” I hear myself saying. “If you are that determined, I have no choice but to speak. I don’t think anything will change if you know though… The wealthy man who owned that painting was killed seven years ago, by my hand. That was my last job.”

And then, I start telling my story, bit by bit.

...

[nordic-language-love]

Immersion: how to immerse yourself in a language when you don’t live in that country

By someone who spends their life trying to convince themself they live in Norway

Put on background noise in your TL. Stick the radio on while you’re studying, listen to a podcast while you’re doing housework, listen to an audiobook while on the bus, whatever. Don’t worry about understanding it all - heck, you don’t even have to pay full attention. Even passively listening will improve your comprehension skills as you get used to the language’s melody (and also find yourself catching the occasional word/phrase).

Change the language of all your devices to your TL. Personally, I don’t recommend doing this until you’ve got a good grip on your basic vocab because getting a pop-up message on your phone that you don’t understand at all can be quite alarming! At least learn how to say confirm, cancel, delete, share and save.

Set your homepage to a news or webzine in your TL. I have NRK as my homepage, so whenever I open my browser I can read the headlines (and then maybe an article).

Watch the news in your TL. I highly recommend watching the news because then you get to know what issues are current in that area of the world, so then you’re learning about the culture too. (It’s also really interesting to see how world events are reported on in other countries and cultures!)

Follow people on social media who post in your TL. Not sure who to follow? News sites, TV show accounts, musicians, actors, athletes etc are always a good starting point. Also search hashtags in your TL (eg #gymnastikk #sminke #treningsglede or whatever you’re interested in)

Music. Find a playlist on spotify of your favourite genre and get listening (do the search in your TL - so for example, if you type in “norwegian rock” you may get a mixture of Norwegian and English songs by Norwegian bands, but if you type in “norsk rock” you’re more likely to get songs in Norwegian)

Video games. If you play ‘em and you have the option, change them into your target language!

Find recipes in your TL. Bonus points if they’re traditional recipes from that country because then you get to learn about the culture too! But anything that looks interesting/tasty is good.

Write lists in your TL. I write most of my shopping lists and to-do lists in Norwegian (and sometimes I post them to my blog so I can get feedback). Then, while I’m at the shop, I’ll think to myself in Norwegian: “where is the cat food? There is the cat food. Now I need soap. Where is the soap? Oh no, the soap is sold out!” Or while I’m doing my chores I’ll try to think, “now I’m washing my clothes. Next I need to clean the kitchen, and then I’ll make lunch.”

Read books. Children’s books are a good starting point if you’re a low level. Also books you’ve read in your native language, especially if you still have the original copy. (Tip: don’t get bogged down trying to translate every word you don’t know. If you can work it out from context, leave it. If you’re unsure about it and it keeps cropping up, look it up. If the sentence doesn’t make sense without it, look it up. If you wanna note down useful phrases do it, but don’t do it for every new word/phrase)

Find youtubers who create content in your TL. Again, do the search in your TL. So instead of typing “norwegian makeup videos” search for “sminkevideo norsk”

While we’re talking about youtube, try to find grammar videos in your TL, searching in your TL rather than in your native language (eg instead of searching ‘present perfect spanish’ try typing ‘el préterito perfecto español’)

Watch TV shows and movies in your TL. You can start by watching with subtitles in your native language, then move to subtitles in your TL, then eventually switch them off. (tip: watch with subtitles in your TL and then note down words/phrases that recur or words/phrases that you like. As with reading, don’t bother noting down everything you don’t know - just the odd one or two here and there that you’re like “oh hey that’s useful I wanna remember that”). You can use the Language Learning With Netflix browser extension, or google news stations in a country where your TL is spoken if you don’t know where to start.

[neocatharsis]

NCT 127 Reveal The Hobbies & Obsessions They Can’t Give Up In Their Down Time

In Elite Daily’s series Rent-Free, celebrities unpack the one thought, memory, or unforgettable pop culture moment that'll always live in their head. In this piece, NCT 127 reveals the interests and hobbies even die-hard fans will be surprised to learn about.

In the past year, most musical acts had to cancel their highly-anticipated tours due to the coronavirus pandemic, and NCT 127 was no exception. That’s why its members — Johnny, Haechan, Mark, Taeyong, Jaehyun, Yuta, Taeil, Jungwoo, and Doyoung — have taken every opportunity to get closer to their fans with new music. After dropping their second Japanese EP, Loveholic, in February, the group returned on June 4 with “Save,” their latest single all about making unforgettable memories. Up next? An entirely new era. On July 7 (the group’s fifth anniversary), they announced their next album is coming in September. In celebration of all the exciting things ahead, NCT 127 opened up about how they wind down after a hard day’s work.

NCT 127 tells Elite Daily these past five years as a group have been worthwhile, and it’s all thanks to their fans, called NCTzens, who have supported them throughout their journey. “[We have so many] memories from practicing together pre-debut to our actual debut stage, and also all those times we spent working on our music and performance to meet our fans at our first concert and first world tour as well,” the group collectively says. “Each and every moment we spend on our music is for our fans, and we are working hard to better show ourselves in various different ways, so we hope you’re all excited!”

Fans have impacted the group so much that they’ve become the muse behind NCT 127’s biggest tracks. “The inspiration [behind ‘Save’] comes from wanting to save our precious memories with each other and with our fans,” the group says. And NCT 127 hasn’t let go of a single one. While they haven’t been able to perform in front of a live audience since early 2020, they held their online Beyond The Origin concert in May. They add, “It was new getting to meet fans from every part of the world at the same time.”

While the guys have their hands full recording their next project, they’re making sure to get some much-deserved R&R whenever they can. Below, NCT 127 reveal the interests that have been living in their minds rent-free.

Johnny

Johnny is a major fan of horror movies. “I love how they keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time you’re watching,” he says. His favorite scary movie of all time is Shutter, which is about a couple who accidentally run over a woman and then see her ghost in photographs they develop. “Even though I watched it when I was young, I still remember the movie, and it’s one I think about often. I’ve seen the movie multiple times since I first saw it in high school, and I recall being scared of red-lit rooms for quite some time afterward,” he says.

His most recent watch was The Conjuring franchise. He adds, “After I saw the movies, I looked up some articles about the behind stories. They were pretty interesting!”

Taeil

Taeil keeps music on his mind even after a full day of rehearsals. “Audio speakers really amplify music so you can hear the intricate details of the track, and there’s also that sense of excitement from when you hear a sound you like!” Taeil says, explaining his love for audio. “I like the speaker brand Focal. There’s still a lot I don’t know about speakers, but I find the brand very attractive since you can experience a flat sound that’s similar to what the songwriter intended to create.”

Taeil says the group’s sound has changed a lot since their debut in 2016. He says, “With time, our team color is definitely becoming more distinct and defined. I think the sound we have now is a very captivating one with strong hip-hop and R&B colors.”

Taeyong

The group’s leader enjoys connecting with others, but especially with NCTzens. “[Our relationship] is a very precious and one that I’m truly grateful for. Not only do we enjoy the same things, but we also try to improve and show that to each other. All of this is very special and meaningful to me,” he says. “It’s nice to learn of each other’s culture, and by singing in different languages, it makes me feel as if I’ve grown closer to our fans from those countries.”

Yuta

Yuta loves exercising because it’s very rewarding, and although he doesn’t have a specific fitness routine, he prefers working out at a gym rather than at home. “I like how exercising makes me feel stronger and helps me to build up my strength... which is very helpful when practicing group dances that require attention to body angles,” he says. “We had a short preparation period [to learn ‘Save’], but I was able to learn the choreography quickly and had a fun time preparing.”

Doyoung

Ever since he was cast as Axel von Fergen in the Korean adaptation of Marie Antoinette, which is based on the 2006 musical of the same name that originally premiered in Japan, Doyoung has found a newfound appreciation for theatre. “I find it very precious how you can share emotions through singing and acting,” he says. “It’s been very meaningful preparing for my musical debut, and it’s really all thanks to the amazing seniors and producers! The process in itself has been a very fun one, and I have been preparing with a heart of gratitude.”

Doyoung is set to make his musical debut on July 13 when the production opens at the Charlotte Theater in Seoul.

Jaehyun

Jaehyun says he “fell in love” with tennis in April because it helps relieve stress. “I’ve always enjoyed trying out new sports like basketball, bowling, and boxing whenever I had the chance. But I actually started tennis because my father recommended it,” he says. “I know this is the case for all sports, but tennis isn’t something you can master after a few tries. It requires persistence, and I started to enjoy it even more as I saw myself gradually improving.”

Jaehyun’s favorite tennis player is Jannik Sinner, a 19-year-old Italian athlete who competed in the 2020 French Open as the youngest quarterfinalist in the men’s singles event. He says, “I’d really like to go see a tournament.”

Mark

Lately, Mark is interested in taking better care of his hair. “It’s really important to me because I change my hair color a lot, and because I want my hair and scalp to be healthy,” he says. While he’s experimented with just about every color in the rainbow, there’s one he always loves going back to. He adds, “I think I liked my blue hair the most. It is my favorite color, after all, and I believe my fans liked it as much as I did. I was glad to be able to film the ‘Save’ music video during my blue-haired period. It fit well with all the scenes and the aesthetics!”

Jungwoo

Similar to Yuta, Jungwoo has also had exercising on his mind. “My life has become more lively since I started exercising. More so than exercising to improve my physique, I exercise in order to have a healthier, richer life. Also, it makes me proud knowing I’m spending my day more productively,” he says. “The first thing I do after I wake up is to start off the day with simple stretches that improve body balance... Stretching helps to warm up the body, which reduces the risk of injury, and can also boost your mood! I think this is why when I dance, I’m able to express those movements in more detail.”

Haechan

Haechan is now experimenting with all things fragrance. “I started using perfume since scents can give a sense of self-satisfaction and because I wanted to smell good all the time!” he says, adding he doesn’t have a favorite perfume. “The scent that suits me well, that I personally like, and that will suit me is always different!” However, there’s one scent that will always remind him of a certain memory with NCT 127. “This might sound funny, but I’d have to say the smell of sweat in our practice rooms,” Haechan says, adding it’s “satisfying” because it makes him feel like they worked hard after a long day. As for what draws fans to NCT 127, Haechan credits their “sincere music and performances.”

© Elite Daily

[terpia]

Early Modern Drama Rec List (Non-Shakespeare)

So I just spend a year reading a lot of early modern drama and I thought I might as well put my degree to a good use and make a list of some of my favourite lesser known (i.e. not written by Shakespeare) early modern plays. All of these plays are in the public domain, so it should be very easy to find them online.

Comedies:

The Roaring Girl by Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker - a fictional story featuring a dramatized portrayal of a real person, Mary Firth, also known as Moll Cutpurse. Moll was a notorious pickpocket, wore a doublet and breeches, smoked a pipe, cursed, and was generally infamous for her 'mannish' behaviour. And she's a character in this play!

It is open to interpretation how positive the play's depiction of Moll really is, but she does play a very important role in getting the main pair of lovers together and ends the play happily continuing to live her life the way she wants, which is in itself pretty incredible. Overall, just a really fun read.

Galatea (or Gallathea) by John Lyly - a 16th century play that is both gay and trans??? Sign me up! In a village where the fairest virgin needs to be sacrificed to Neptune every 5 years (or he'll drown everyone), two fathers decide to disguise their beautiful daughters as boys and hide them in a nearby forest. While wandering around the forest the two girls meet and, falling for each other's disguises, fall in love. In the end (spoilers for the ending, but this is not exactly a play you read for the plot, lol), Diana stops Neptune, the two girls find out each other's true identities and decide they're still in love, and Venus turns one of them (we never find out which one) into a boy so that they can get married.

As must be clear from this summary, this comedy plays around with gender a lot. To add to the gender cocktail, remember that the two girls would have been originally played by boys. Although the ending was seen as heteronormative by early queer critics, the emergence of trans criticism within queer theory has led to a lot of interesting readings of the play. Well worth a read.

(also, if you have a device on which you can play DVDs and some money to spare, consider buying a DVD of the Edward's Boys production of the play. Edward's Boys is a group that replicates the format of early modern boys' companies, with all roles in their productions being played by boys. I will admit, when I bought a DVD of their 2014 production of Galatea, I expected to watch a glorified high school performance, but it turned out to be so good. All the boy actors were amazing, way better at performing Shakespeare than a lot of Hollywood actors. This just straight-up felt like a professional theatre production, I highly recommend it.)

The Knight of the Burning Pestle by Francis Beaumont - I don't even know how to describe this play other than 'fantastic and fun'. A meta-theatrical city comedy, which starts with a pair of audience members (who were actually two dressed-up boy actors from the boys' company performing the play) jumping onto a stage and demanding to see a different play than the the one being set up. Things get only wilder from there.

A genuinely really funny play. I don't know of anyone who has read it and hasn't immediately loved it.

The Sea Voyage by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger - one of the least well known plays out of this list, which is unfortunate because this play is really fun. Short and sweet, it's a story of a bunch of (surprisingly honorable) pirates, who get shipwrecked on an island inhabited by a tribe of Amazon-like women. Predictably, hijinks ensue. An interesting look into early modern gender relations (apparently the main reason why living without men would be difficult for women is because of how horny they would get? I think Fletcher and Massinger need to take a lesson or two from Lyly).

The Alchemist by Ben Jonson - want to see three assholes con a bunch of idiots in increasingly ridiculous ways? Then this is the play for you.

Jonson's city comedies, which satirize the people of early modern London, tend to be much meaner in tone than Shakespeare's comedies and the other comedies on this list, but in many ways, that's what makes them fun. Viciously clever and at times really funny, there's an edge to the writing that makes it very entertaining. I had a lot of fun reading this (Jonson's Epicoene is also great, if you want a comedy that's even meaner and also has some very questionable gay stuff in it).

Tragedies:

Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe - probably the most famous non-Shakespeare early modern play, and for a good reason. It has everything; pacts with the devil, a melodramatic anti-hero protagonist, homoeroticism (I mean of course, it's Marlowe), and a suitably gory and tragic ending. What more can you ask for?

The Tragedy of Mariam by Elizabeth Cary - this play is more interesting than fun, but I think it's still well worth a read. It's the first original play written in English by a woman. The play takes place in ancient Palestine. It looks at the way Mariam, a Jewish queen, reacts to the news of the death of her husband, the tyrannous Herod (yes, the baby-killing guy from the Bible). Most people seem to be relieved. Except oops, Herod is not actually dead.

A fascinating look at gender ideology in the early modern period, with the play centering around the conflict of a woman who tries to live up to the ideals of a perfect wife and woman, while stuck in a marriage to a tyrant. This play would also be a great read for anyone interested in how gender and sexuality intersected with race in early modern England, because this play uses a lot of racialized language to describe women.

The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster - a classic revenge tragedy. A recently widowed Duchess wants to marry her steward, but her asshole brothers throw a fit. Intrigue and death ensue. At one point a fake wax hand and some fake wax corpses appear on stage.

This play basically reads like a good thriller. Fucked up in a way that only an early modern revenge tragedy can be, this is a fun and thrilling read.

The Changeling by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley - speaking of fucked up. If you're planning to read it, be mindful that this play contains sexual assault. It's a story of a young noblewoman called Beatrice, who wants to get rid of her fiancé after falling in love with a visiting nobleman. To do it, she enlists the help of her villainous servant De Flores. Things end up going extremely badly.

This play can get very uncomfortable at times, but just like The Duchess, it's as gripping as any good modern thriller. Very engaging. The ending is as engrossing as it is stomach-churning, although probably not for the reasons it was originally meant to (reading criticism about The Changeling, it is genuinely shocking and disheartening to see how long it took for critics to start addressing the clear issues of consent in the play). The story also includes a bizarre virginity test that uses a potion which makes you drowsy or which makes you sneeze and laugh depending on whether you had sex or not, so hey, at least that's fun?

Antonio's Revenge by John Marston - ok, so this is definitely the least... good of the plays I've recommended so far, but listen. Do you like trainwrecks? Do you like violence so over-the-top that people to this day wonder whether it's actually supposed to be a parody of the revenge tragedy genre? Are you looking for a reading experience that will make you go 'what the fuck' throughout? If so, this is the play for you!

Very much in the so bad it's good category. Ridiculously gory. The only thing that makes it better is knowing that it was originally played by children (on a related note, I haven't seen this production, but I know that this play has also been played by Edward's Boys). If you like horrible, gory horror movies, you'll probably enjoy this play.

That's it for now! Hopefully at least a few of these plays catch your interest.

Btw, LibriVox, which is an organisation that makes public domain recordings of public domain texts, has most of these plays available as free audiobooks, if you're interested!

[sailormoonandme]

Where to start with Sailor Moon?

From time to time I’ve seen people ask about how to get into Sailor Moon or how they might introduce it to someone else. 

As such I’ve made this to (hopefully) help people out.

Introduction

So first of all you should know that the official name for the over all franchise is ‘Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon’. This can (and has) been translated a few ways, but the current official name is ‘Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon’. Basically everything connected with Sailor Moon carries this full official name, but for the purposes of this post I’m just going to shorten things to ‘Sailor Moon’.

Moving on,  there are in fact different versions of the Sailor Moon story, even putting aside the various attempts at translating the story into different languages. Each version is best viewed as its own entity, sort of how there have been various versions of Sherlock Holmes that exist independently of one another. 

For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to mostly keep this post to the original Japanese iterations of Sailor Moon, albeit from the point of view of an English speaking audience member.*

The main versions of the Sailor Moon story are as follows:

1) The Manga

The manga iteration of Sailor Moon began around late 1991/early 1992. It includes around 50 chapters, a handful of side stories and a prequel manga of sorts called Codename: Sailor-V. There have been several different English translations of this material over the years. However, my personal recommendation would be to experience the story through the ‘Eternal Editions’. These are easily available in print and digitally. As of this writing Codename: Sailor-V is scheduled to be collected in at some point in 2021, thus collecting all the manga stories.

2) The 1992 anime

This is the most famous iteration of Sailor Moon and loosely adapts the manga to the point where it is its own entity. It spans 200 episodes across five seasons, with each season being given its own subtitle. E.g. season 2 is referred to as ‘Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon R’. Additionally there were a handful of shorts and specials connected with the anime and three films. I have already compiled a watch list for the show that I hope will help you navigate everything.

Like the manga, there have been multiple efforts to subtitle the show into English, particular among fan subbing circles. However, the easiest way to watch the show with English subs is to do so via a streaming service (last I checked it was available on Hulu and Crunchyroll) or to purchase the DVDs and Blu-rays from Viz Media, although you can also purchase them digitally on Amazon.com too.

3) The musicals

 On and off since 1993 there have been stage musicals produced for Sailor Moon. If you ever see the term ‘Sera Myu’ being used by fans (or even official sources) understand that it’s shorthand for these musicals.

The musicals are based chiefly upon the manga and the original anime, although with some original embellishments here and there. The degree to which a musical cuts closer to the manga, or the anime or does something all its own varies from one production to another. I’m not very well read up on the musicals I must admit, but it is to my understanding that each production exists independently from one another beyond at times carrying over cast and staff members. In essence there is no particular order you need to watch the musicals in. However, if you want more info on the musicals see the below EDIT, which is more well informed than I am.

To my knowledge, (which is limited in this particular case) all the musicals have been filmed but there has never been any kind of official English release for them. There have however been fan subbed efforts made for all of them. 

4) The 2003 live action TV show

In fan circles this show is referred to as ‘Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon’ or ‘Pretty Guardian’ or ‘PGSM’. This is because it was the first piece of Sailor Moon media to bear that particular English translation of ‘Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon’. Basically if you see ‘Pretty Guardian’ or ‘PGSM’, understand it is referencing this show.

The show exclusively adapts the ‘Dark Kingdom’ storyline, the first storyline in every version of Sailor Moon. The show was made in a similar vein to shows like Kamen Rider or Super Sentai and the latter’s American adaptation, Power Rangers. However, it also incorporates elements of Japanese soap opera dramas too, original elements that were never in any version of Sailor Moon beforehand and many different spins on the plot points that had been covered before. 

To my knowledge, like Sera Myu, no official English release for this show exists, but English fansubs are out there somewhere. If you manage to find the show then you should watch the various episodes and specials in their original broadcast order. For this Wikipedia is your friend. 

5) Sailor Moon Crystal

Sporadically since 2014 a new Sailor Moon anime has been in production. This new anime cuts much closer to the original manga (although it still makes some changes ) than any other version of Sailor Moon. As of this writing, the show has yet to be completed and still has material from the manga left to adapt. The show is available to watch with English subtitles from the same sources as the original 1992 anime, including DVDs and Blu-Rays from Viz Media.

Like the original anime, Crystal’s story arcs and seasons have gone under different names. The first two seasons/arcs are officially just called ‘Sailor Moon Crystal’, whilst the third is explicitly titled ‘Sailor Moon Crystal Season III’. In place of a fourth season two films, Sailor Moon: Eternal Part 1 and Part 2, were produced. As of this writing, the Eternal films have yet to have any kind of English release. To make your life easier, watch this show in the order of the original air/release dates. Just remember the Eternal films are to be viewed after Season III.

Which version should you start with?

Whilst that is how the franchise breaks down, it is not the order a Sailor Moon newbie should try experiencing it in.

My personal recommendation would be to begin with the original 1992 anime and then move on to any of the other versions from there. This is because the original anime is aimed at a younger audience and was incredibly influential on basically every other version of the story. 

However, if 200 episodes or more is too intimidating for you, then simply check out the manga. It’s far shorter, skewed a bit older and tells a concise and complete story. 

And if you are still apprehensive then I’d highly recommend watching the first Sailor Moon film, Sailor Moon R The Movie. This is a very good film unto itself but it is a microcosm of the characters and themes that define the franchise as a whole. If you dislike this Sailor Moon just isn’t for you. 

P.S. If you are simply dead set against subtitles then you should know the original 1992 anime and Crystal have in fact been dubbed into English by Viz Media. In fact, the first four seasons of the original anime, along with the first three films, have two English dubs, variously produced by DiC, Cloverway and Pioneer. These dubs were made in the 1990s and early 2000s and are currently not legally available anywhere. 

*Things get more complicated when we consider that even in Japan there have been updated and altered versions of the Sailor Moon manga, anime, etc. We aren’t going to worry about that in this post though. They exist and maybe someday you might be inclined to check them out, but you know...baby steps...

EDIT #1: The following information comes from https://euribear.tumblr.com/

Just something I want to add on about the Sailor Moon Musicals.

If you see a musical with the word Kaiteiban (revision) at the end of the name, that means it’s a revised version of the previous musical. Things added or taken away, different cast members at times, etc.

Also, there are three musicals (technically four) that have a continuous storyline. Starring Miyuki Kanbe as Sailor Moon, Last Dracul, Transylvania no Mori (and its Kaiteiban), and Death Vulcan should be viewed in order.

The Bandai era of musicals were from 1993 to 2005.

The Nelke musicals started in 2014 and there was one each year for five years. One musical for each arc of the manga.

There are also the NogiMyu. These are musicals that solely focus on the Dark Kingdom arc and they star various members of the pop idol group Nogizazaka46.

There were two teams of cast members for the inner senshi for both years, 2018 and 2019. The same story overall, just different actresses.

There was also Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon The Super Live. My personal favorite, this was a musical performed only a few times. A couple of days in Japan in 2018 and then once in Paris in 2019 and then in Washington D.C. and later in NYC. I got to see this in person on one of the three showings in NYC. A dream come true. Unfortunately, this was never recorded, though they did release an instrumental musical album of the show.

[therealabbyham]

Racism in modern media.

A lot of controversy over the depiction of people of color (POC) in modern media has arisen. With both the Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate movements that have happened in the last year, both new and old shows and movies have been brought forward as examples of what is not okay. Now, with some research, I'd like to go through these examples and go through what has made them controversial.

"Stock characters and slapstick tropes have always existed in theatre, from Shakespearean comedies to even something as seemingly benign as the Disney Channel show “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” (remember Esteban?). But ethnic stock characters have been tricky to write in an increasingly politically correct 21st century, despite their appearances in such Broadway classics as “West Side Story” and “The King and I." (The Muse at Dreyfoos)

”Song of the South (Disney film) - By far one of the most controversial and well-known instances of controversy. So much so that Disney never sold the movie on DVD and will not be putting it on Disney plus. Disney's most recent effort to erase the racism from their history (also see: the crows in Dumbo and the original draft of Fantasia), was to go farther in changing Splash Mountain. Originally they had gotten rid of the characters on the ride (who were all characters from the movie), now, however, they are changing the ride altogether, changing it into a Princess and the Frog-inspired ride. "Song of the South’s African American characters are treated warmly, particularly Uncle Remus, who is Johnny’s best friend and confidant, a charismatic storyteller, and, most importantly, the film’s conduit to the animated world of Br’er Rabbit... The problem isn’t necessarily what Song of the South depicts, but what it chooses not to depict. Although Harris’ Uncle Remus stories were set in Georgia after the Civil War, the film adaptation never makes it clear when the story is taking place... If you’re not a scholar or an Uncle Remus expert, it’s very easy to assume that the film is set before the Civil War, and that Remus and Aunt Tempy (Hattie McDaniel) are slaves — and that they are completely fine with that." (Quotes from Screencrush) "By stripping out any concrete details of time and place, Disney essentially turned the plantation system into a ludicrous utopia where blacks and whites live in harmony — a harmony where the only thing that’s clear is that the blacks are inferior and servile to the whites, but are content to work the fields anyway." "Several of Remus’ stories are about Br’er Rabbit wanting to run away from his problems; the moral, inevitably, is that you can’t avoid trouble and there’s no place like home. These lessons are particularly important to Johnny because he doesn’t like life on the plantation initially and wants to run away to live with his father in Atlanta. But when coupled with the African American characters’ oddly cheerful attitude about their social status, the movie seems to be arguing on behalf of complacency. Don’t leave the plantation, don’t try to better yourself. Just go with the flow."

Thoroughly Modern Millie (Broadway show) - The show is about a young girl named Millie who moved from a small town to NYC, and the show is known for having "the subplot and the peddling of outdated Chinese stereotypes". (A lot of this will be in quotes from the previous link). Although "the play is set in the 1920s... the script was written in 2000, based on source material from the 1967 film of the same name" On Playbill, another study is done, "As much as the 2002 Tony-winning Best Musical is a love story about making it in the big city, the show’s major subplot centers on “white slavery.”" An argument could be made that “To actually have real Chinese guys singing and speaking in their own language and meaning it, and to link their immigrant story to the same story as Millie ... and come to America because of the American Dream, all these people who come to New York to reinvent themselves and be modern—I think is exactly what the Chinese guys are all about." (This is irrelevant if the characters are not played by someone who's Chinese). With accurate casting then it might be "another opportunity to cast shade on racist attitudes and assumptions about us [the Chinese] and what we know and how smart we are and what we’re capable of..." However it still "can be racist if you do it racist. This show can be done racist but it doesn’t have to and actually, it can actually be anti-racist." Personally, I think if the line you walk is so fine and covered in eggshells, it may not be worth it (but of course, it's an opinion, even if it's widely accepted). Even Ashley Park, who wanted to be Millie, thought “It’s one of the characters that I’ve loved, always, but I always figured I’d never play it just because of the race stuff that’s in [the show].” because she's Korean-American.

Emily in Paris (Netflix show) - Speaking of Ashley Parks, let's talk about Emily in Paris, one of Netflix's most controversial and most hated shows. To put it simply, the show (which I have not seen) is about an American girl who moves to Paris. Yep. That simple. In a video by Friendly Space Ninja (who's French), he says "I've been insulted by this show, more than once... Emily in Paris has a huge racism problem... and it also comes up as arrogant." He goes on to say, "When people say Emily in Paris portrays French culture in a very insulting way, they're not exaggerating." "The French in this show think Americans are the greatest and they aspire to be more like them and as a French person myself... Yeah no that's not accurate." "During the entire show, Emily tries to teach the French that doing things the American way is the right way." (I highly recommend watching this video if you don't mind the swear words, it has good points, that's why I'm just using quotes). "Emily in Paris only has two characters of color... these two characters of color are made of degrading cliches..." "All of the racist things [Mindy, a POC character,] says were written by a white writer." "The other non-white character is this guy... He's one of Emily's co-workers and he's gay... and I had to read he was gay online... and his entire point of existence in this show is to be the most stereotypical gay man the writers could come up with... all he does is stand in the background and act sassy... The writers are so dismissive with him I'm pretty sure the only reason they made him black is so they could kill two birds with one stone." "Emily in Paris has two actors of color and both of them feel like an afterthought." My thoughts: Don't watch this show. It has a season two coming out, don't watch it, even if you want to see how bad it is. There will be someone online who will tell you why it's bad and you'll save time reading or watching their review instead of giving Netflix a reason for a season three.

Anyways, those are just a few (obvious) examples of how racism isn't okay, even if it isn't inherently meant to be racist. Song of the South was meant to be a heart-warming movie full of stories about morals, but it's been banned and basically erased from Disney history because it comes off as being pro-slave. Millie was meant to be a commentary on Asain stereotypes while lifting up Asain actors so they were given more opportunities, yet most schools have banned it. And Emily in Paris, despite its connections that got it nominated for awards, was such a dumpster fire, a good review is near impossible to find.

[watching-pictures-move]

Put On Your Raincoats #17 | The Erotic Reveries of Rinse Dream

Cafe Flesh opens with a title card orienting us to its post-apocalyptic setting. After a calamitous apocalyptic event known as the "Nuclear Kiss", the world is made up of 99% "Sex Negatives", and 1% "Sex Positives". The Sex Negatives can't have sex and can only watch. The Sex Positives escaped such a fate, but are instead forced to perform for an audience of Positives for their vicarious enjoyment. There are many such venues but the one we spend the movie in is the Cafe Flesh of the title, a nightclub where the decor and patronage evoke a cross between punk rock and retro-futurist aesthetics and a hint of Rat Pack era cool. A smarmy comedian in a white tuxedo introduces the sex acts, which are elaborately staged performances that play almost as genre parody with their tongue-in-cheek choreography (plenty of costumed grinding, as with a performer in a rat costume early on, and mimed thrusting, as with another performer in a pencil costume in a later scene) until the turn into the real thing with the requisite close-ups. Futuristic jazz reminiscent of Angelo Badalamenti's music plays over the proceedings.

This serves as the background to a story about a woman who may or may not secretly be a Positive (played by scream queen Michelle Bauer and, in certain scenes, a body double) and the impending arrival of a legendary Positive performer known for his virility (a towering, square-jawed Kevin James, introduced in black sunglasses and an oversized blue suit). We also get a sense of the tensions in this nightclub ecosystem, particularly between the heroine and her boyfriend, a new performer, the comedian, the owner (who puts the comedian in his place in one scene by having him cruelly recite "the rhyme"). (The comedian is played by Andy Nichols and the owner by Tantala Ray, both of whom played interview subjects in Gregory Dark's Devil in Miss Jones two-parter, which leads me to believe the latter was influenced by this movie, as Nichols in particular doesn't have many screen credits.)

This movie apparently was a bit of a success in the midnight movie circuit, and it's not hard to see why, based on the strength of the mise en scene and the performances. The cool, smoky backgrounds of the reaction shots provide a nice counterpoint to the avant garde looking performances and give the highly stylized setting a nice evocative quality. There's also a level of genre commentary here, as the story ultimately is about the heroine's agency over her pleasure and the roles sex performers are forced into by greater society, ultimately imprisoned by their own abilities. Truth be told I found the performances got a little less enjoyable when they got down to business with the penetration and whatnot (it gets harder to pull off inspired choreography when one of your appendages is stuck in another person, or vice versa), but I also think it's necessary for those themes to resonate.

Cafe Flesh was directed by Stephen Sayadian, credited as Rinse Dream, and he'd previously used that pseudonym on Nightdreams, for which he co-wrote the screenplay. (The director was Francis Delia, who went on to a career of directing mostly music videos and television, while the other writer was Jerry Stahl, known for his memoir Permanent Midnight, as well as writing for shows such as ALF and movies such as Bad Boys II.) This movie similarly concerns agency over female pleasure and is about two doctors (Andy Nichols and Jennifer West) conducting experiments on a mentally ill young woman by inducing erotic dreams and monitoring her brainwaves. There's a dream involving a giant, monstrous jack-in-the-box. There's one with a pair of cowgirls and something other than a gun stored in a holster, with the cowgirls spouting stilted dialogues in robotic monotones, a Sayadian trademark of sorts. Wall of Voodoo's cover of "Ring of Fire" plays over the action (I'm not sure if they paid for the rights, but Delia and Sayadian did direct videos for the band). There's one with a group of bedouins sharing a hookah and then her. There's a giallo-esque scene involving a masked assailant, but this happens after an aborted nightmare about a shrieking man with a hollow chest from his pants emerges a shrivelled up, monstrous baby. Did David Lynch jack off to this? I wouldn't rule it out, folks.

There's a scene where she blows an anthropomorphic box of Cream of Wheat, while a jaunty cover of "Old Man River" plays on the soundtrack and a man dressed as giant piece of toast dances and plays saxopohone. An IMDb user review cites this scene for its cutting racial commentary, but I found this tonally jarring with the rest of the movie. After this, there's a trip to hell where a demon and his minions subject her to such horrific tortures as prodding her with a giant claw and then an even more fearsome double-pronged contraption. The scientists argue over fears that they gave her too much stimulation. ("This woman's on the brink of an orgasm. Let her enjoy it. She doesn't need interruption from a man." "You call it orgasm. I call it breakdown.") The movie then makes way to its final set piece, involving fog, a background of blue sky and pillars and soft piano music. The cinematography in this scene is in stark contrast to the mostly shadowy, intimate imagery of the previous scenes, with the camera pulled up to admire both their bodies and the scene continuing for some time after the climax. It almost brings to mind a certain scene in Jerry Lewis' The Ladies Man that I found disarming in its stylistic and tonal break from the rest of the movie. Without revealing too much, the film's coda sets the record straight.

It probably doesn't say anything flattering about me that I found most of this pretty hot. The movie has a tinge of horror running through it, giving many of the sex scenes (especially the one in hell) a real tension, while the scientific framing device gives it a cold, calculating quality reminiscent of David Cronenberg. (Alas, this doesn't predate some of his most influential films, but for all we know, David Cronenberg jacked off to it as well.) A few of the character names (Mrs. Van Houten, Mrs. Chalmers) make me suspect that Matt Groening might have seen (and jacked off to) it as well. This is pure speculation on my part, but as far as I'm aware, none of them have denied it either. The movie's distinct tone is grounded in an impressive lead performance by Dorothy LeMay. I wasn't all too impressed with her work in Taboo II, but here I think she skillfully evokes the heroine's derangement and "erotic trauma", in the words of the scientists.

Sayadian and Stahl collaborated again for Dr. Caligari, a relatively mainstream effort that also found some success as a midnight movie. I say "relatively" because it's still pretty fucking weird. The movie positions itself as a loose sequel to Robert Wiene's classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, this time about the granddaughter of the original Caligari conducting illegal experiments in an insane asylum. From the earlier film it pulls a German expressionist influence, but combines it with a campy, MTV-inflected style to present the asylum as a warped funhouse. The dimensions of the architecture are distorted and full of odd angles, decorated in a mixture of pitch black and gaudy day-glo colours (lots of yellow and pink costumes). This is not a pornographic movie, yet it's hardly less obsessed with sex, as the villain's plan concerns the weaponization of female pleasure. There's also the occasional grotesque sexually-charged image to spice things up, like the sight of a woman with giant, phallic-shaped breasts. Some of the imagery also gives it potency as horror, like an oozing sore or a cake full of intestines. There's a lot of strange, stilted dialogue, as in this exchange:

"Describe your life in three words or less."

"Un-ending torment."

"Elaborate, please."

"Blankety blank blank."

"Thank you for being specific."

This is matched by the angular body language of the villain, played by Madeline Reynal in a deadpan yet very physical performance. This movie also brings into focus a voyeuristic theme, which was present in those earlier movies but didn't seem quite as confrontational in its presentation. A character utters, basically to the audience: "I know you're watching me. I feel your eyes like wet fingers touching me in special places." (This is a line of dialogue that appeared in the next few films I'll talk about.) Truth be told, I was a little exhausted by the sensory overload of Sayadian's style here, and in retrospect appreciate the way the sex scenes act as a counterpoint to his more aggressive tendencies in his more explicit films. But at the same time, this is full of memorable imagery and has a weirdly compelling lead performance. I don't know if there's much else quite like it (or at least operating at this force), so it gets a recommendation.

Sayadian followed up Nightdreams with a few shot-on-video sequels. I skipped Nightdreams 2 as I could only find it in a heavily degraded transfer, but I did make time for Nightdreams 3, which has a self contained story that's essentially a more explicit if relaxed version of Dr. Caligari, once again concerning a doctor conducting sinister experiments at an insane asylum. (This time her experiments mostly involve just fucking her patients and other staff.) There's more of the stilted dialogue, even closer to non sequiturs than they were in the earlier film, with the music by Double Vision providing an off-kilter soundscape to match the weirdness of the dialogue. (Highlights include "My pussy's like an erotic assassin" and "I happen to know she has a thing for longshoremen. Just mention On the Waterfront and she gets randy pants.") The video imagery quite frankly is pretty ugly, with the green carpet and purple drapes that decorate the set looking especially ungainly, yet Sayadian seems aware of this, as when he uses video's flattening effect to create a crude facsimile of a split diopter shot. The video collage style he adopts meshes uneasily with the plot, as if to call out its meaninglessness, giving the whole thing a slight MST3K vibe, especially as characters speak directly to the camera.

Some of these tendencies are honed to a more pleasing form in the two-part Party Doll A Go-Go!, where we spend time with a number of attractive, shapely women in bright coloured lingerie as they spout '60s-inspired dialogue at the viewer in between scenes of copulation. (Not all the dialogue is '60s-tinged, however: "They're overcome with retro wordplay...Us modern girls prefer synthetic future".) Like many pornographic films, this is a collection of loosely related sex scenes, but Sayadian's construction turns those genre requirements into parody, having his characters offer colour commentary (albeit channeled through his campy prose) on their own scenes and even getting interrupted by the stars of subsequent and preceding scenes. The number of quotable lines is even greater than those earlier films, and I admit I was scrambling to write down the choicest ones as there were so many. The best lines go to Jeanna Fine, who also has the huskiest voice and the most penetrating stare, so she was easily my favourite. I certainly was not unmoved when she insisted that she's "never run around buck naked and bubbling for man-winky" or "never wrapped[her] lips around a throbbing johnny". (She does not, however, deny having ever interacted with beef bologna.) Or when she asked the audience "Was I a bad girl?" (said three times in rapid succession) or if we've "ever seen a double orgasm on videotape?" (She adds "Watch, pornhound" and "Calling all porndogs, watch me work, uh-huh.") And I definitely wasn't unmoved when she demonstrated her talents on a dildo dangled in front of her (which she refers to as an "artificial man-thing", a "chubby rubber fella" and a "flying princeton"). No, definitely not unmoved.

There isn't much of plot here, except in the latter half when one of the girls can't stop "the wiggle" and needs to be rescued with an emergency injection of "boy jerky". Sayadian, once again bringing voyeuristic concerns into focus (the characters all talk to the camera), seems to be satirizing the very idea of porn having premises and certain their lazy execution. Even the production design is transparent in its chintz (the movie is shot entirely on the same set, with the bare minimum in alterations to the set dressing to make it look even slightly different), while the video images, which feature lots of Dutch angles, zooms and whip pans, match the campiness of the whole affair. This is probably a little long at a combined 2+ hours, but at the same time, it settles into a nice groove and is full of really attractive and reasonably charismatic actresses delivering amusing dialogue and indulging in "girl homo" (sometimes "big time girl homo") or getting "boy jerky". I don't have much interest in delving into '90s pornography and shot-on-video productions strain the dignity one can feel while trying to watch pornographic films as actual movies, but I'm not gonna pretend I didn't have a good time with this.

[wayward-pendragon]

My favourite animated shows on Netflix

Hi y’all! Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe☺️ bc uni is soooo stressful I have been coping by rewatching some of my fav cartoons on Netflix and I thought I’d share! It’s a small list so if anyone has any recommendations leave a comment or send me a message!! (I’m not including any animes bc otherwise we would be here all day)

Avatar: The Last Airbender (my literal fav show ever) (3 seasons, 61 episodes)

I can’t even begin to describe how absolutely amazing this show is. I have been doing an annual rewatch of ATLA for just over a decade now, and I love it. I’m pretty sure most people are familiar with the show but for those are you who are not, it is set in a world where people can control the elements and the avatar is the only one that can master all 4 and keeps in the peace in the world. After the fire nation starts a war to basically take over the world, the avatar mysteriously vanishes and is discovered 100 years later by 2 siblings. This follows their journey as the avatar must learn to master all of the elements and bring peace to the world once again. This is a really trash summary but the overall premise, characters, THE SOUND TRACK, and literally aspect of this show is phenomenal and I can’t recommend it enough. If you like this one, the second series Legend of Korra is also amazing, sadly it was taken of Netflix for my region tho.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (8 seasons, 76 episodes)

Giant robotic space lions. That’s the show. Just ur average ragtag squad fighting to protect the galaxy from evil alien invasion... with giant space lions. I went into this show knowing very little and really I think that made me enjoy it more. The characters are fantastic and the world is so much fun. This show made me laugh and cry and cheer, it really deserves all the hype it got when it was airing (maybe not the last season tho.. don’t come for me plz). The fights scenes were so sick and this show was just honestly so good plz watch it.

Miraculous Ladybug (77 episodes on Netflix +1 of the movies, on-going)

Oh boy here we go. This cartoon originally aired in France, but got soooo popular that its now dubbed in 5 languages on Netflix. I watched both the English and French versions as French is my second language and it helps to keep my comprehension skills intact (both versions are 👌👌). The show follows 2 high schools students who were chosen to protect Paris from evil. This crime fighting duo work together as Ladybug and Cat Noir, but must keep their identities a secret, even from each other. You can imagine what kind of situations this leads to 😂. This show is so creative and precious, it’s really cute but can also pull at your emotions which really surprised me. The characters are 10/10 and the love fricken square makes you want to pull your hair out but I am sooooo invested at this point. Netflix has the episodes in a really funky or so I suggest reading some Reddit posts or consulting TikTok/youtube to find the best order.

The Dragon Prince (27 episodes, on-going)

Honestly the animation style is what originally drew me to the show, but I stayed for the adorable characters and their adventures. The animation is gorgeous I really enjoy the direction they took the art style for this show! The characters are also sooo cute and everyone has their own little mission or back story, it’s just a fun adventure show with magic and a whole bunch of fun creatures. The very simplified summary is that 2 brothers (princes) end up having to go on adventure to protect the egg of the dragon prince and return it to its mother to bring peace to their land. It kinda ended?? But I think it’s been picked up for a whole ass saga so I highly recommend checking it out.

Pokémon: Indigo league (52 episodes on Netflix, 80 eps total)

Okay this one is a little controversial because I’m pretty sure it’s technically considered anime but this shit was my childhood. Whenever I don’t know what to watch or need something playing in the background I always put on indigo league. It just brings back that nostalgia and I love it so much. If you have not watched this already or are look for a little nostalgia, indigo league is for you.

[antialiasis]

Worldbuilding June (Pokémon edition), Days 8-12

Whoops forgot to post these for a couple of days, too busy with a load of Things as always.

8. Who rules in your world?

TQftL never brings up government, but each region has its own human government, generally just standard representative democracies similar to what we have in the modern world. Ouen has an elected parliament and president. It's a fairly utopian world with little scarcity and politics play kind of a background role - they keep things running, they have some different parties, but there's low polarization and usually they work pretty smoothly together and have little conflict. The situation in other regions is similar - movement is very free and conflict between them is rare and minor in the grand scheme of things.

QftLverse Pokémon, once again, have their own societies and are not subject to human rule except in a limited way while they're with a trainer, as per the Agreement, an all-encompassing contract dictating how the relationship between humans and Pokémon should work. Different Pokémon species govern themselves differently, but their societies are generally based on smaller self-governing groups. The Scyther society has a single leader, who is meant to be the simply strongest in the swarm, and anyone can challenge them to a duel to the death to take their place at any time.

The Morphicverse is once again close to Earth, with different countries having different modes of government. The Poké-USA's politicical climate resembles the actual USA's political climate in ~2007, but if I ever wrote references to the current president I wouldn't make him an outright Bush expy or anything, beyond being from the conservative one of the two highly polarized parties.

9. What religions and myths/legends exist in your world?

The QftLverse's human society is basically post-religious. Legendary Pokémon are revered, but not worshipped - people don't pray to them, ascribe natural phenomena to them, expect them to watch over them personally, perform symbolic rituals associated with them, etc. That said, humans do have myths concerning them - not always accurate ones. The story describes the human myth behind one set of legendaries early on before the reality much later turns out to have been fairly different, for instance.

QftLverse Pokémon have their own myths, legends, religions and beliefs. The Scyther society explored in the spin-offs has a bit of a vague mythology going on explaining the sun, moon, stars and clouds, but it's not very important to them, more of a just-so story. Meanwhile, they live by a system of ethics known as the Code that they consider sacred and all-important, though it doesn't have a godly figure behind it as the source of it, only a philosophy. Other Pokémon might variously have straight-up religion (whether worshipping legendary Pokémon or something else), be entirely areligious, or something in between; most will have myths and legends in some form, though.

The Morphicverse has a form of Christianity, which is functionally a lot like ours; this also means they had a version of Judaism. Other specific religions don't come up, but they'd at the very least be as varied as real-world religions. Like in real life, there are many sects and variants, and as many individual interpretations of faiths as there are people. The villain cult in particular has fringe views that in no way resemble the mainstream. And like in real life, many people nominally believe but don't really practice their religion, and many are agnostic or atheist.

Legendary Pokémon in the Morphicverse are cryptids - there are myths and legends about them, and people think they're neat, write fiction and make movies about them all the time, but in the modern day, actually-for-real believing that they exist out there ranges from mildly eccentric to entirely unthinkable. Worship of legendary Pokémon exists, but in the way that modern neo-Paganism does. It's not remotely mainstream, generally seen as a weird hippie thing, and the notion of Arceus appearing in the flesh one day and declaring he created the universe is about as fantastical to most people as the notion of the Norse pantheon doing the same in our world.

10. What traditions are observed in your world?

QftLverse human traditions are mostly just secular holidays - commemorations of important days in the region's history, etc. It's tradition for most children to go out on a Pokémon journey the spring after they turn ten years old, and participate in a First-Timers' League in the autumn if they manage to stick it out for the whole journey and collect all the badges - there are kids who don't, but it's rare for them to not want to, and other kids may see them as no fun.

Every year in Green Town, there is a Pokémon Festival originally built around the legendary Pokémon Chaletwo's yearly brief visit to the outskirts of the city (which may or may not be ditched in the next revision); it hosts a number of Pokémon-themed events over several days. One of them is a starter Pokémon giveaway, where most kids go to get official starter Pokémon, who have specifically volunteered and been trained to work with beginning trainers - though many kids have had Pokémon as pets/partners since they were young and journey with them instead, or their parents otherwise get them a Pokémon who's up for a beginning trainer. (Many Pokémon kind of like the idea of journeying with a beginning trainer, in the way that many people like the idea of getting a kitten rather than an adult cat - just something special about having been with them from the start. Though getting a starter who's actually been trained to deal with kids is recommended over just finding any random enthusiastic Pokémon.)

Pokémon have all kinds of different traditions. The Scyther society as explored in the spin-offs has a number of traditions and rituals, including a sort of blood baptism of new hatchlings, the leader of the swarm teaching all the adolescent Scyther about the Code, and First Prey, where each of the adolescents is sent out to hunt prey on their own for the first time, with a male and female witness following, so they can prove their ability to kill and to feed themselves. Afterwards, they're expected to publicly offer a symbolic piece of the meat of their first prey to some members of the swarm, and doing so signals respect; you don't technically have to, but in practice everyone always offers it to the leader and not doing so would be taken as outright disrespect.

The Morphicverse is once again culturally similar to the real world and has mostly similar sorts of traditions. Pokémon training is less culturally ingrained there, but still a very common hobby for kids.

11. What are some ways people communicate with pokémon in your world, or pokémon with each other?

In the QftLverse, humans learn to understand Pokémon speech as a mandatory subject at school. Pokémon inherently understand human speech, but they speak anime-style, usually in syllables of their species' name (which is what the species are named after). They share one language, which is not based on exactly what the syllables are but the tone and the way they're combined, hence why it works regardless of the species.

In the current version of the fic, this is pure handwave worldbuilding: it's established that it happens at school at the beginning, and then we just move on to the story, where every human simply understands what Pokémon are saying at all times. In the next revision I'd give a bit more proper worldbuilding attention to it - let the language barrier be a little more present, humans vary in exactly how good they are at it (luckily it's already the main character's best subject at school), and otherwise treat it less like it's just an excuse to act like Pokémon speak English.

In the Morphicverse, Pokémon do communicate but they don't do complex communication - instead, it's closer to the sort of communication most animals do in the real world. They can express how they're feeling, draw attention to something interesting, sound the alarm about something scary, ask another Pokémon to follow, and can do this in a somewhat more efficient and intelligent way than most animals generally do. But one way or another, they don't communicate complicated abstract ideas, neither to humans nor to one another. Pokémon don't automatically understand human speech here, though they're very quick learners when it comes to commands, and they can pick up a fair amount just by being around humans, allowing them to get the gist of basic statements and requests without being explicitly taught them, though anything abstract would still be entirely lost on them. You could tell a Pokémon you've lived with for years "I lost my hat, can you help me find it" and they'll go look for your hat, but they'd be lost if you tried to ask them for anything much more complicated than that.

12. What is the gym circuit or adventuring organization like in your world?

In the QftLverse, gyms are meant to be taken on in a specific order and gym leaders are accordingly expected to keep their Pokémon below a certain level. To be officially sanctioned by the League, a gym needs to have a theme - usually a type, although Rick got away with a legendary theme because he gets away with everything because he is hypnotizing League officials with his Mewtwo super-clone I was twelve years old. Every year there's a First-Timers' League in the autumn in each region, where new trainers who have collected all eight badges of their region face off (except for the bit where I somehow made a guy who'd been training for years be part of it without thinking about it properly). There's also a global Old-Timers' League for more experienced trainers, which crowns a world champion; this doesn't involve badges and is just a tournament. Trainers are advised to stick to official routes, while Pokémon who want a trainer seek out the routes and others avoid them; going off-route has the potential to lead to run-ins with Pokémon who are more hostile to humans. It's not forbidden but it's drilled into kids' heads that you're not supposed to.

The Morphicverse's gym circuit is not too dissimilar to that, but gym leaders are expected to carry a variety of Pokémon teams to take on challengers of different skill levels, who can take on the gyms of their circuit in any order. Kid trainers are strictly meant to travel only along official routes, which are thoroughly monitored to be safe, and often take public trainer transportation; when they're eighteen they can get an adult trainer license with which they can take their Pokémon anywhere they like, at their own risk. Mostly kids do it as a hobby, and many young children dream of being professional trainers, but only a fraction are actually good enough to make money off it, so most either quit it after a few summers on realizing it's not for them (they might release their Pokémon or keep them as pets, depending on how high-maintenance they are), or continue to do it as a side hobby. There exist college-level training schools for those who really want to dedicate their lives to it, but by that point in time most people will have dropped their pro trainer dreams.

[brooklynboysficrecs]

Ria’s Top 10 Shrinkyclinks Fics

I will admit this isn’t my preferred AU -- I won’t immediately jump on a fic just because it’s pre-serum Steve and WS Bucky. I gotta like the plot, or the premise, or be really, really intrigued by the tags, but to be fair, that’s how I am with everything that isn’t Modern Bucky and Cap Steve, so. That being said, I have read some truly fantastic shrinkyclinks stories, and I do very much love Steven “Fight Me” Rogers at his scrappiest. And these fics also tend to feature protective!Bucky which is another personal favorite of mine. Oh, but also: shrinkyclinks generally refers to pre-serum Steve with actual Winter Soldier Bucky, but a lot of people use the tag just to imply body types, and when they say WS Bucky they mean he’s all huge and muscled and sometimes has a metal arm, though that isn’t required. That’s the definition I’m going with as well, so hopefully nothing’s confusing!

1. If Wishing Made It So by leveragehunters. Before I get into anything about the actual fic, let me say this: leveragehunters is probably my favorite stucky writer. Like, hands-down, I read almost everything they write, and they’re big into fantasy stories, which is a great bonus for me personally. So, so, so many good shrinkyclinks fics by them (Even Underneath the Waves, a mermaid AU that features equal amounts of pre- and post-serum Steve, and A-mage-ing Grace with mage Steve are two of my other favorites, and they would’ve been on the list, but I try not to put more than one story per author, ya know? And IWMIS kinda wins out above the others for me, so). This story features jinn!Bucky who finds himself in the baffled hands of Steve Rogers, who is perfectly prickly and stubborn and good. Bucky’s got a terrible past with humans in general (and Hydra in particular, what a shocker) that he and Steve have to overcome as their relationship progresses, but that progression is frankly beautiful to watch unfold. I come back to this story time and time again because of how much I love these versions of Steve and Bucky getting to know one another, learning to trust each other, supporting each other through the worst the world has to throw at them. Plus, there’s a few more stories in this series if you get as hooked as I am, which is always great!!

2. Roots Have Grown by AustinB. I remember reading this and just... completely feeling what Bucky is going through. Not everything -- he’s an agoraphobic veteran, and I can’t relate to either of those, really, but he’s so... awkward about his crush on Steve. And that’s -- that’s relatable to me. But it’s precious, really, how he tries to help Steve even though he’s afraid to actually meet him initially; he becomes Steve’s sort of... anonymous benefactor? Guardian angel with money? Like, it’s definitely a sugar daddy type deal originally but I doubt Bucky would describe it like that. I don’t know, it’s cute, though, and I loved seeing Bucky opening up to Steve as they became closer. 

3. Through The Woods by VenusMonstrosa, alby_mangroves. Okay, hear me out: werewolves. I fucking love werewolves in fiction; I mean, not really the romance novels you’ll see in the grocery store, but. Werewolf mythology is one of my favorite things, so seeing it in fanfiction almost always manages to lure me in. And I was so not disappointed with this story! Steve’s living alone in a cabin in the woods, which of course sounds like the opening to a horror movie, but here it leads to love. Werewolf Bucky is both charming and terrifying, to a degree, he’s a wolf, but he and Steve are fantastic together. This is another story that goes in on the trust aspect of their relationship and I for one am a big fan of that. There’s some violence, minor character death and the like, but it’s definitely not undeserved so. If you can handle that (and the sex, because there is sex in this) then I highly recommend this one!

4. The Joy of Little Things by obsessivereader, Sealcat. And so we move from werewolves to dragons. Yup. Dragons. Another of my beloved mythical creatures that I obsessed over when I was kid. Bucky’s capable of shifting into a human in this, but primarily he’s a big ol’ dragon that surprisingly doesn’t want to eat the scrawny sacrifice from the local village. Steve ends up working for Bucky, instead, and from there hilarity ensues. Steve’s obviously wary of Bucky, but Bucky isn’t at all what he’d been expecting, and they grow closer the longer Steve’s staying in Bucky’s caves. There are a couple of stories with Dragon!Bucky, but this is my personal favorite; it’s cute and heart-warming and, well. I just really like it. 

5. I Just Want to Love You in My Own Language by agetwellcard, inediblesushi. So this one has Cap!Bucky (Bucky!Cap?) but again, sometimes it’s more about how Bucky looks rather than his role as the Winter Soldier. Anyway, I remember my biggest take away from this story was how adorable Bucky was in his quest to win the affections of sassy Nurse Steve, who patches him up after missions and is probably playing hard to get. Bucky uses terrible pick-up lines, absolutely awful, and he is completely unashamed of that fact. Which is, as I said, adorable. Steve, initially, does not agree with my assessment, but he gets there eventually. After some requisite drama, of course.

6. Tint & Shade by forestofbabel. Oh, god, this one hurt me, I remember that pretty clearly. Bucky is the Winter Soldier in this, and Steve is a 21st century art therapist who just so happens to resemble his late grandfather, Captain Joseph Rogers, who fought in -- you guessed it -- WWII. Like I said in the intro, if I really like the premise of something I’ll usually read it regardless of the configuration of pre-/post-serum Steve and pre-serum/WS Bucky, and this was definitely one of the fics I got into for that reason. Having actual WS Bucky interact with a modern pre-serum Steve is always interesting, given how much they don’t have in common, generally (there isn’t even really the veteran status that modern Bucky sometimes has in fics), and it’s a journey to see how and why they connect. Having Steve resemble his WWII era grandfather caught my attention, and the fic itself made me grateful that I decided to go for it in the first place. This is another one where is trust is key to their relationship, considering the mental/emotional state Bucky is in at the beginning. Very good story overall!

7. Fourth Floor by dirtybinary, mithborien, picoalloe. So dirtybinary has written some amazing stucky fics, which is why I was so excited when I saw this being posted initially (a few years ago, but still). There’s magic! Mystery! Suspense! Some NatSharon! Looking this over, I’m wondering if I should’ve saved it for the Urban Fantasy list I wanna do (and If Wishing Made It So, if I’m being honest) but I do like it for the shrinkyclinks list. The writing is great, the characterization of Steve and Bucky is great, and like, they live in what is essentially a magical apartment complex, so what’s better than that? 

8. my heart tells me you are lonely, too by FanGirling. Alright, so I read this one as it was being published, and the slow burn about killed me. You know, in a good way, though. Bucky lives in Steve and his mother’s apartment building, trying to figure out where to go with his life now that he’s broken free of Hydra and gotten his autonomy back. He’s obviously wary, skittish, but he takes a liking to Sarah Rogers when she reaches out to befriend him, surprised anyone wants to be near him let alone take the time to get to know him. Steve... is not so easily sold on Bucky. And I’m not gonna spoil anything here, but the shit these two go through is intense, and I cried a lot during this fic, sometimes out of frustration because they’re both ridiculous about their feelings (of course Bucky’s fears are valid, the man has been through literal hell, but also I was internally screaming a little as Bucky continually talked himself out of getting closer to Steve.) I wanted to wrap the both of them in about thirty blankets for pretty much the entire length of the fic. God. They’re just -- they’re so incredibly sweet in this one, once they work past their issues (Bucky and Steve are both more than a little messed up from their respective circumstances, but they make it work). Mind the tags on this one, also, especially because there is a chapter that deals with attempted sexual assault against Steve (obviously not with Bucky!), but Bucky handles the situation before anything truly nasty happens, that I can promise. 

9. Local Raccoon Befriends Angry Chihuahua by charlesdk. This is yet another author I really love; they have a fantastic farmer!Steve/Modern!WS!Bucky story that I love to bits, as well as other great fics. But anyway, this one. The title sold me the second I saw it, honestly, I can’t even pretend that wasn’t the deciding factor in me reading this. I don’t think I can really do any better than the summary in explaining why I recommend it; feisty tiny Steve and lovestruck grumpy Bucky are a winning combination in my book. This one does feature the boys dealing with homophobia and ableism, though I can’t recall how severe it is. So I’d just mind the tags, and if you’re alright with them, thoroughly enjoy this story. 

10. The Road to Hell is Paved with Tony’s Good Intentions by pinlilli. Bucky as a mail-order Russian bride. That’s the detail that pretty much demanded I click on this fic, and oh my god, it was even better than I ever could’ve expected. Tony, in a bid to help Steve get over his awful ex-boyfriend (fuck Brock Rumlow in every universe, honestly), literally orders him a husband -- in the form of beefy James Barnes, who is a fucking gem and I will not hear one bad word against him. He does chores, it’s lovely and adorable, and you will definitely fall just as hard as Steve does. There’s some canon-typical violence in this one that relates to James’ past, but nothing super graphic as far as I remember. Again, Rumlow is a dick and should be treated as such, but he’s hardly the most important part of this fic and I urge everyone to take a look at it if they’re as intrigued by Bucky being a mail-order husband as I was. 

[battlestar-royco]

here is part 2 of my sci fi recs masterlist! again, i could’ve gone on with even more recs but i decided to draw the line here. this set for the most part errs on the darker side, thematically, visually, conceptually etc. i personally find it super thought-provoking and intriguing but that’s just me. i highly recommend reading the tw under the cut if you’re thinking of watching, especially the matrix and space gothic slides. please view at your discretion <3

part 1/2

If you like WLW (um idk why I only made this slide based on identity; it just kinda happened lmao but I think it works):

Siren: (tw: parent loss, grief, thalassophobia) a mermaid surfaces in a cove town looking for her lost sister. Polyamorous relationship between a man, a black/indigenous woman, and the mermaid!!!! Environmentalism! As a person who has thalassophobia, I didn’t find this too hard to watch. There aren’t that many underwater scenes, thankfully.

Black Mirror: San Junipero: (tw: grief, but otherwise none that I recall; it’s pretty lighthearted) two women meet in a beach resort in the 80s and fall in love. Interracial wlw!

Orphan Black: (tw: suicide, infertility, rape implication, VB, language, drug use) a woman realizes she is one of several clones and uncovers an elaborate corporate conspiracy. This is one of my personal favorites with great rep of complex women of all ages and bodily autonomy. Several central queer characters and a black male secondary character!

Starfish: (tw: grief, a few jump scares and brief monstrous imagery, blood) after the death of her best friend, a young woman breaks into the deceased’s apartment and discovers a chain of music tapes that could save the world. Weird, subtle, and experimental. Not to sound like a surfer but you kinda have to allow yourself to be in the vibe. The main character and her friend were definitely a thing imo.

Annihilation: (tw: body horror, VB, disturbing imagery) a team of women scientists explore an anomaly that rapidly mutates genes. There are canonical and coded wlw and multiple (light-skinned) POC in this but the rep is short-lived. I put it on because although it should’ve been more ambitious with the casting, I think it breaks *some* ground for Hollywood sci fi with the all-woman team and more than one WOC. Wack ending though.

Mad Max: Fury Road: (tw: rape implication, violence) I think everyone knows about this one but: in the apocalypse, a woman breaks 4 younger women out of a harem. A badass car chase across the desert ensues. A bit light on plot/worldbuilding, but sooooo cool-looking and very thematic!!!!

If you liked STRANGER THINGS:

It: (tw: VB) don’t actually watch this lmao I’m serious. It’s really stupid, and not in a funny way. But I do think Stranger Things was inspired by this story overall. The modern It films are better but they’re also really kjslsklskls stupid? Stephen King in general is obsolete imo.

The Thing: (tw: VB) an alien that can take the form of others wreaks havoc on a scientific facility in Antarctica. It’s dark and vibey, but I feel like it’s just Alien in Antarctica with truly terrible special effects tbh?? Others feel differently. It’s also classified as sci fi/horror, so stay away if you’re easily scared! Not too good on representation.

Super 8: (tw: some language) a group of preteens witnesses an alien-caused train crash as they’re filming a home movie. Not diverse but I definitely think it inspired a lot of sci fi for the 2010s, ESPECIALLY Stranger Things. Not too scary either!

ET: (tw: it’s been a really long time since I watched so I don’t remember but it’s rated PG) I think everyone knows what this is about!

Alien: (tw: VB) truckers in space discover a deadly evolving alien. One of my favorite movies of all time! I love the aesthetic and the mood and worldbuilding so much. Ellen Ripley is one of the first Final Girls in the horror genre. I personally found this more of a sci fi than a horror movie but I’d say stay away if you’re nervous!!

Terminator: (tw: VB) a deadly android is sent to kill a woman who’s destined to birth the man who saves the world. Terminator 2 is way better imo because it centers on Sarah rather than the dudes saving her and trying to kill her. But it’s still worth a watch, you know, for the culture.

If you liked CONTAGION:

War of the Worlds: (tw: blood) pretty straightforward aliens come to Earth to take over. Sorry to rec another T*m Cruise movie but I really like the alien design and the apocalypsey feel of this one. Baby Dakota Fanning is in it too!

Falling Skies: (tw: VB, body horror, rape) alien invasion yada yada but the alien lore gets more interesting as it goes on. It’s kind of cheesy and yeah maybe I did discover it by looking up the iCarly boyfriend (and what about it??) but it’s nice to have on in the downtime. An Asian woman co-stars.

Knowing: (tw: blood) school students unearth a time capsule that contains a sheet from a girl who predicted all the tragic world events between 1959-2009. This is NOT a good movie but it’s SO hilarious to me because of the acting and contrivances. Fun to group-watch!!!!

10 Cloverfield Lane: (tw: VB, emotional abuse) a woman wakes up in a bunker to a captor who tells her that the world has fallen to alien apocalypse. I think this movie elevates the original Cloverfield in pretty much every way. Again, super tense and moody. The conflict revolves around whether or not the captor is being truthful.

Train to Busan: (tw: extreme VB and disturbing imagery) a man and his daughter are on a train when a zombie hops on at the last minute. It’s Korean with an all-Asian cast; Choi Woo-shik co-stars. I definitely wouldn’t watch if you’re scared of blood and gore. It’s very gross and violent.

12 Monkeys: (tw: ableism, violence) a man from the 2030s is sent back to the 1990s to prevent the plague that will end the world. I think the aesthetics of this are really cool but otherwise it’s not a favorite. But I think it appeals to people who like apocalypse and time travel stuff!

If you liked THE MATRIX:

Strange Days: (tw: rape, sex, nudity, VB, racism, police brutality) memories can be saved to hard-drives and sold on the black market for exorbitant prices. Very problematic and triggering presentation of rape, but young Angela Basset stars and there’s a condemnation of police brutality that’s still relevant 20+ years after its release.

Upgrade: (tw: ableism, VB, fridging) a disabled man installs an AI in his spine to help him move and investigate the murder of his wife. The premise is glaringly ableist and I feel weird even recommending it tbh but it’s got great visuals and a few good twists.

Altered Carbon: (tw: VB, weird interracial body switching, uhhh I haven’t finished this one IDK) in a society where human bodies are interchangeable, a man wakes up in a new body after 300 years of his mind being dormant. A Latina woman co-stars, two Asian characters in a subplot, a few other POC here and there as well. I think season 2 stars a black man.

eXistenZ: (tw: VB, anti-Asian racism, general weirdness? IDK it’s hard to describe. There are guns made out of bones and weirdly sexual visuals.) after someone tries to assassinate her, a video game designer and her bodyguard must play through her virtual reality game in order to save the only copy of the game.

Minority Report: (tw: VB, eye removal/insertion) all crimes are predicted and criminals reported before they are committed. The main character is preemptively accused of murder. This one is really white but it was one of the first movies that got me into sci fi. Early 2000s Colin Farrell <3.

If you liked WESTWORLD:

Humans: (tw: uncanny valley, objectification) androids are household helpers and public assistants throughout Britain until one day they start developing consciences. It hits a lot of the themes of Westworld without all the unnecessary pretentiousness, “edginess,” and “grittiness,” and it stars Gemma Chan and Colin Morgan!!

Blade Runner 2049: (^) an android is ordered to find and kill a human/android hybrid. It’s not without its issues but it’s one of my favorite movies of all time, right up there with Alien. So beautiful, so thematic, so thought-provoking (to me, anyway. I know a lot of people thought it was way too slow).

Ex Machina: (^) a man is invited to a private estate to help test the intelligence of an android. It’s kind of predictable imo but you know Oscar Isaac and Sonoya Mizuno are in it so we have to stan, and so is Domhnall Gleeson, for the SW fans! I like how isolated and quiet it feels.

I Am Mother: (tw: blood, gaslighting) after an extinction event, a young woman is raised by a lone android in a human repopulation facility until one day a woman knocks. It starts off slow and a bit generic, but I’m obsessed with the 2nd and 3rd acts of this movie---good acting, dialogue, and fantastic visuals. It has that same isolated feel as Ex Machina with only three characters, all of which are women/woman-coded!!!

If you liked ALIEN (space gothic):

Battlestar Galactica (2004-2008 reboot): (tw: genocide, war, colonization, VB, uncanny valley, rape, infidelity) space opera that follows humanity as it fights the ever-evolving and powerful enemy of their own creation: androids named Cylons. Um? I  L O V E  THIS SHOW SO MUCH and I truly do think it’s everything sci fi should be. There is a really unfortunate Miss Saigon-esque romance plot in season 1 and a lazily-written love triangle involving a black woman in season 3, but otherwise it’s one of my all-time favorites and I highly recommend. It’ll spin your mind and tug your heartstrings for years.

Black Mirror: Men Against Fire: (tw: genocide, war, nudity) soldiers in the near future protect citizens from mutant zombies, but one soldier starts experiencing strange hallucinations in the field. This is such an underrated Black Mirror episode starring a black man. There’s brief objectification of a black woman but it’s very anti-military and it has an interesting sterile aesthetic that reminds me of Alien.

High Life: (tw: rape, black holes/space anxiety, very disturbing) prisoners are given the option to join a space expedition and serve as experimental subjects en route to a black hole. Please please stay away if you are triggered by sexual violence of any kind. There’s almost no physical violence in this movie but it’s psychologically haunting imo.

The Faculty: (tw; VB, drug use) high schoolers discover their teachers are being possessed by an invading alien race. I LOVE THIS MOVIE LMFAOOOO. The cast is SO wild---Elijah Wood, John Oliver, Usher, Salma Hayek, Josh Hartnett??? And I’m probably forgetting more. The combination of the cast, the terrible dialogue, and shitty special effects is PEAK comedy imo. But bear in mind it’s bloody!!

Prometheus: (tw: body horror, VB, uncanny valley) a crew of scientists heads on a deep space mission to find the aliens who created the human race. A prequel to Alien, but I kind of view it as its own thing. Despite the plot holes, I love this movie too! It was one of my sci fi gateways and the visuals are stunning. It’s pretty gory though so if that’s not your thing stay away.

Life: (tw: extreme VB) a lesser Alien, but it provides all the space gothic tropes (jokey crew, shots of space, really pretty spaceship, everyone dies, creepy alien) with a well-known cast---Gyllenhaal, Reynolds, etc.

The X Files: (tw: a few episodes contain 90s racism, sexism, queerphobia etc but you can skip them) a lot of people have watched this so I barely have to explain, but it’s one of my favorites. Two FBI agents investigate multiple aliens and get involved in government conspiracies along the way. A good gateway!

A Quiet Place: (tw: child loss, VB, tension) I think most people know what this is about too. Alien apocalypse with aliens that hunt by sound. The daughter in the family is deaf, and so is the actress who portrays her. The representation of deafness was critically acclaimed.