#Willy: Are snakes animals?

[thornescratch]

Help this man is so fucking handsome and so fucking dumb.

[slushyseals]

All videos showing people removing barnacles from sea turtles are not rescue videos, they're animal abuse- even if the video is "real".

Please report these videos as abuse and stop letting these people profit off rescue videos

There are many videos where the "rescuer" is actually the one who attached the barnacles in the first place (some you can even see the hot glue underneath as they pull off the pieces). Unless you see the animal in a rescue center with a vet tech treating it, that animal is being abused. How so?

The reason those growths are there is likely something far more dangerous that needs to be addressed. Healthy turtles do not get this level of growth on their shells. So if you see something like this, it’s a sign that this turtle is unwell and has been sick for a while. Scraping off the growths doesn’t solve the underlying issue. Also, doing so without any tools or pain medication can be extremely painful and stressful for the turtle. Often with this level of growth, barnacles will have borrowed through the turtle’s shell into live tissue. And just ripping them off like this without the expertise of a medical professional can do more harm than good. Not to mention that it is WAY stressful and not what the turtle needs most. Imagine if you had a the stomach flu or food poisoning and someone decided to “help” you by first detangling your hair, popping pimples, and exfoliating you when what you really need is fluids and someone to handle you very gently. It’s focusing on the wrong problem first and can worsen the underlying condition.

If you see an animal "rescue" video, always think- how did they find this animal? (Is it likely they just found an animal- or did they put an animal in danger to play hero for clout and ad profits? How did this animal get into this terrible situation in the first place? (The number of giant snakes found wrapped around a dog is pretty unbelievable- usually it's a person abusing two animals they own.) How is this person running into so many animals in dangerous situations? (Especially when you look at their other videos and they reuse the same animals to "save".) I am outside daily and I don't come across anywhere near as many animals needing help like these content farm channels.

Even when videos are real, if they are not a trained rescue worker they are often doing more harm than good! The people kidnapping tortoises and "saving" them by throwing them out into lakes and rivers might have just killed that animal. Many tortoises are land animals and aren't built for swimming like sea turtles, they can easily drown! A surprising number of people don't understand seals need to rest on shore, and end up killing babies and harassing adults by chasing them into the water. Baby seals can't swim for long distances, and chasing them into the water means their mom won't be able to find the baby after she's done hunting fish- the baby will slowly starve to death if actual rescue workers do not intervene!

Heck, some people have found perfectly healthy and happy baby seals waiting for their moms on the beach, but because the person doesn't understand that the mom isn't there 100% of the time think the baby has been abandoned; a man kidnapped a pup when the rescue wouldn't send someone out to get the animal which not only hurt that pup whom he caused to be an orphan, but now that pup is taking up resources that could have been given to babies that actually needed it. Rescues don't have infinite resources and I don't want to put to words what can happen when they reach maximum capacity. (The guy was also very lucky he didn't get bit- seal bite infections are much worse than regular bites!) So many others people mistreat because they don't know better, like the baby seal that had people dumping water and ice on it like it was Free Willy. Or trying to feed them sandwiches. Both of these actions make life worse for the animal.

That video of a dog as a service animal rehabilitating a baby seal? That was made by a couple idiots who likely scared the mother off and caused the baby to starve to death just so they could make their intentionally misinformative video knowing full well they were lieing! Dogs should be leashed and kept far away from any seal as they are a reason many seals are horrifically mauled to death each year! Videos like this are absolutely vile as they misinform the public who own dogs and may see a seal on the beach and think, "Oh! My dog is a good boy and can go play with the water puppy! They enjoy that!" Please do not do this! Seals shouldn't be encouraged to associate with or like dogs, that puts puts in danger not only of cross contamination with things that can make them very sick, but you don't know the temperament of any and every dog that seal will see in its lifetime. All it takes is one- and there are plenty of dogs who act fine around human children and vicious around a random seal they find. The babies don't even have a chance against a full grown dog! Their ONLY chance is that situation never happens; keep your dog leashed, because it will see that seal and shoot off before you can stop it. As well behaved as your dog is on the best day, it has free will and at the end of the day is a dog and will be an animal.

Let's face it, most of us don't know the proper care of any and every wild animal we could run into and can only guess when faced with a genuinely unexpected situation. Any legitimate rescue video should start with the person contacting the local rescue to ask the experienced and knowledgeable staff what should be done if they themselves are not a trained rescuer. Often times the animal is perfectly fine, humans just see something they don't expect and misread what's going on causing a situation that didn't previously exist. Other times if there is an issue, the rescue will instruct the person what to do- which may be to keep an eye on the animal until trained rescuers can arrive. And lastly, please be aware of fake animal rescue channels and report any videos you see and inform others about this so these channels stop being praised and profiting from animal abuse.

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

How can you tell if a reptile sanctuary is legit or if it’s a hoarder? What are the red flags?

Great question!!

Before we get to the red flags, here are green flags to look out for. Not every legit sanctuary will meet every item on this list, but you do want to look for a pattern of these things.

Is the sanctuary accredited by ASA (American Sanctuary Association) or GFAS (Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries)?

If they're not accredited by ASA or GFAS, are they a registered non-profit organization (501c3)?

Do they have legitimate partnerships? Look for parterships with AZA-accredited zoos, universities, and conservation organizations. In the US, many legitimate sanctuaries partner with the humane society in their state.

Do they do conservation work? Legit reptile sanctuaries might be involved with breeding endangered species in partnership with AZA-accredited zoos, re-releasing rehabbed wild native species, etc.

If they participate in the breeding of endangered species, do they cite a species survival plan as developed by an AZA-accredited zoo? AZA SSPs always require that endangered species either be added to the captive breeding population for conservation purposes or be released into their native range. Animals bred for SSPs won't ever be used for commercial purposes, like photo ops.

Do they do educational outreach? Legit reptile sanctuaries will often host courses and seminars on snake safety, wildlife conservation, and general reptile knowledge.

Do they heavily limit public interaction with animals, if they allow it at all? Legit sanctuaries are not petting zoos and will never behave as one, and visitors can only interact with animals in an educational capacity.

Now, here are the red flags. 🚩🚩🚩

The animals aren't kept in appropriate conditions. If reptiles are being kept in racks (without medical reason, like for a snake recovering from injury), you know right away it's a hoarder and not a sanctuary. Look for large enclosures with lots of enrichment, allowing reptiles to engage in natural behaviors.

The animals don't look healthy. They might look too skinny or too overweight, or have obvious wounds.

The facility is too small to comfortably house the amount of animals there.

The "sanctuary" breeds reptiles without citing an AZA SSP. Sanctuaries have limited space and resources, and a legit one will never breed reptiles willy-nilly - it takes space away from reptiles who need it!

They buy, sell, or trade animals. Animals are surrendered to sanctuaries, and a real one will never buy reptiles or sell them. Animals at a sanctuary are usually there for life. Reptiles surrendered from the pet trade might be rehomed, but the facility will never sell dangerous reptiles (like crocodilians or venomous snakes).

They allow extensive public interaction with the animals - think things like allowing visitors to take pictures with baby alligators.

On that note, they use the animals to turn a profit. They might sell pictures with reptiles, or charge visitors to hold them.

This is one of those things where it's important to trust your gut. If something feels wrong with a sanctuary, it probably is!

[meme-streets]

il buono.

01 where i lead me – townes van zandt 02 elements and things – tony joe white 03 the changeling – the doors 04 call me the breeze – j.j. cale 05 spoonful – willie dixon 06 walk away – tom waits 07 secret intention – the william loveday intention 08 dancing with mr. d – the rolling stones 09 calling card – rory gallagher 10 the spy – the doors 11 fire of love – jody reynolds 12 written in your hair – robert lester folsom 13 waiting for the sun – the doors 14 don't let me be misunderstood – the animals 15 all along the watchtower – bob dylan 16 hunger child blues – townes van zandt 17 (ghost) riders in the sky – johnny cash 18 wand'rin' star – lee marvin 19 don't fence me in – clint eastwood 20 state trooper – bruce springsteen 21 snake song – townes van zandt

two hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money; we'll have to earn it.

[jungle-angel]

I’ll Keep You Warm (Rhett Abbott x Reader)

Summary: You know Rhett will always be there for you and the kids, even on the coldest nights Wyoming has ever seen

Rhett closed the hatch on the back of the pellet stove in the basement, making sure it was completely filled and that the woodstove in the living room had enough in it to last the night. School had already cancelled until Monday and all the animals on the property had to be in due to the temperatures that were predicted to dip below zero. 

“Alright my stinky familiars,” Rhett said to the skunks, snapping his fingers and pointing towards the beat up old wicker basket where the babies were all laying in a pile to keep warm. 

The male and female obeyed instantly, earning a handful of mealworms from Rhett in their food dishes which were still full of blueberries, pears and the insectivore chow that Wes had brought over from the wildlife center. Rhett scratched their chins and ran his hand along their tails before they curled around the babies who were still small and needed to nurse. 

Back upstairs he went to see if Willy and Tiny were in their basket yet, the kittens mewing as they searched for their mother. Rhett quickly got a hold of the one who was always sneaking around and hiding in your yarn basket before putting him back with his brothers and sisters. 

“Darlin ya’ll still down here?” he asked. 

“In the kitchen,” you answered. 

Rhett made his way into the kitchen and snaked his arms around you as you scrubbed away at the last of the dishes. He pressed his warm lips against your neck, listening to the purr in your throat. 

“How goes Momma?” he asked, his voice deep from exhaustion. 

“Tired,” you answered. “I’m cold too. I’m shaking like a chihuahua dog.” 

Rhett laughed a little, but he too could feel the cold radiating a little against the window above the kitchen sink. “Kids need flannel pjs tonight, right?” he asked. 

“And the heavy quilts,” you reminded him. 

Rhett kissed your cheek but quickly snapped to attention when he heard the loud cries of a newborn coming from upstairs. “You stay put,” Rhett ordered. “I’ve got him.” 

Rhett headed upstairs to your shared bedroom, his steps quickening as the cries grew louder. Poor Dallas was fully awake, only in his little onesie and nothing else as he lay in the knotted pine sleeping basket on Rhett’s side of the bed. 

“Oh buddy, c’mere,” Rhett cooed as he lifted the little one out of his sleeping basket. “You’ve gotta be freezing.” 

Rhett found his little blue and white knit blanket Cecelia had made the day Dallas had officially been adopted into the family, wrapping it around his little form and holding the baby against him for warmth. 

“You were cold weren’t you?” Rhett said as he carefully put Dallas’s little blue and green pacifier in his mouth. “I know buddy, I know. Wish we could all go to Florida for a little while and get some sunshine.” 

Dallas’s crying died down to a few squeaky little whimpers as Rhett kissed the smooth tufts of hair on Dallas’s fragile little head. He dug around in the dresser to see if he could find some warm pjs for the baby and sure enough, there they were. You had gotten them the day of the official court ruling that Dallas was yours, the little blue footie pajamas that had a cowboy on a bucking bronco stitched onto them. Cecelia had thought they were the cutest thing in the world and now that Dallas had grown a little, he fit into them perfectly. Rhett even found the little crochet socks and matching hat that would keep him extra warm. 

Out of the old clothes and into the new and Dallas finally settled right down. Rhett carefully placed him in the sleeping basket, covering him with the blanket and stroking his hair. He hardly noticed you in the door, the broad smile on your face growing wider by the second. You loved how soft he was with the kids, especially the boys when they were newborns and the girls? Whenever he’d snuggle the girls, your legs turned to jelly.

“Is he asleep?” you whispered. 

“Gettin there,” Rhett answered. “What about the others?” 

“Hannah’s still awake,” you answered. “She’ll be reading her Little House on the Prairie books for hours. The big twins went down and so didn’t the little twins.”

“Kaya?” 

Before you could answer, in rushed Kaya in her little red and black flannel pajamas that Papa and Nana Cece had gotten all of the kids for Christmas. “Daddy, I’m done with my bath,” she chirped, pushing some of her wet hair over her shoulder. 

You laughed as your youngest daughter jumped up on the bed, hushing her before she had a chance to get too loud. “Alright Princess,” Rhett said, picking her up onto his hip. “Now that your baby brother’s asleep, it’s your turn.” 

He could feel Kaya’s tiny little frame buzzing with the cold, her teeth chattering like machine gun fire as Rhett brought her into her room. “C’mon Princess,” he said. “Up in your bed.” 

Kaya climbed the ladder right up into her bed, snuggling under the sheets, the comforter and the thick duvet cover that you and Rhett both tossed over her, her little velveteen rabbit tucked under her arm. 

“I love you Princess,” Rhett whispered, kissing her forehead. 

“I love you too Daddy,” Kaya chirped. 

You and Rhett turned out the lights and headed back to your own room, settling under the thick covers and watching the snow fall outside your window as Dallas snored softly in the basket next to you. 

Rhett curled his arms around you and pulled you close, the both of you asleep in one of his zip-up hoodies under layers of thick, warm blankets that felt more like a giant weighted one. 

“Still wanna go somewhere warm soon?” you asked, stroking his jaw which felt like sandpaper. 

“I’m hopin soon Darlin,” he murmured. “I’m gettin cabin fever real bad.” 

“Don’t worry,” you chuckled. “When my students were having their Spanish lessons, I went online and managed to get some pretty good plane tickets for Florida.” 

Rhett’s eyes went wide, his jaw hanging open like a confused guppy. “I.....I....you....we’re goin to Florida?” 

“When the kids go on February break,” you informed him. “A cousin of mine left us the house down in Key West, free of charge.” 

Rhett half laughed, half cried with relief. “Aw Darlin, ya’ll didn’t have to do that.” 

You tilted his chin so that his eyes met yours. “And you think I haven’t noticed you looking depressed lately?” you told him. “C’mon, you need the sunshine. Plus we have amazing memories of that place.” 

“Hmmm, our honeymoon in Key West.” 

The two of you lay awake until your eyelids couldn’t stand it anymore, recalling those beautiful memories of yours and Rhett’s honeymoon in the Florida Keys, the sunshine, laying in the hammock for hours and spending an ungodly amount of time on the beach, leaving the two of you a sunburned mess. 

And you couldn’t wait to do it again with your family.

[character-estudio]

Spotify Character Study Masterpost

Below the cut is the current list of fandom/ character playlists. Many of these playlists are ever-growing because I keep adding more songs, if you have any requests for a playlist or song recommendations for a playlist, the inbox is open!

Series:

Doctor Who

Good Omens

Our Flag Means Death

Reservation Dogs

Fleabag

Stranger Things

What We Do In The Shadows

Animated Series:

The Amazing Digital Circus (NEW!)

The Radio Demon

Hazbin Hotel

Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel) NEW!

Marceline (Adventure Time)

Gravity Falls

Pink Diamond (Steven Universe) 

Bee and Puppycat

Character from a series:

Twelfth Doctor

Fourteenth Doctor

Fifteen Doctor

Wednesday

Lucifer Morningstar

Thomas Shelby (Peaky Blinders)

Aubrey Thyme (Good Omens fic) (NEW!)

Aziraphale (Good Omens)

Crowley (Good Omens)

Tanis (Letterkenny)

Willie Jack (Reservation Dogs)

Laura Palmer (Twin Peaks)

BJ Hunnicutt (M*A*S*H)

Hawkeye Pierce (M*A*S*H)

Marvel & DC:

Hobie Brown

Peter Parker

Bucky Barnes

Yelena Belova

Loki

WandaVision

Moon Knight

Werewolf By Night

Harley Quinn

Harley & Ivy

Star Wars:

The Mandalorian

Ahsoka Tano

Obi Wan Kenobi

Anakin Skywalker

Anakin & Padme

Movies:

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

Barbie

Veronica Sawyer (Heathers)

Christine Daae (Phantom of the Opera) 

Jennifer Check (Jennifer’s Body)

Ginger Fitzgerald (Ginger Snaps)

Holly Golightly (Breakfast at Tiffany's)

Bonnie & Clyde (1967)

Animated Movies:

Howls Moving Castle

Kat Elliot (Wendel & Wild)

Luca

Bruno Madrigal (Encanto)

La Familia Madrigal

[fyanimaldiversity]

🐛

I’m not sure if I mentioned it on my other animal blog or here, I LOVE caterpillars, but the idea of touching one terrifies me! Even seeing pictures of other people handling harmless ones gives me the willies. Their spikes and fluff and warning colorations absolutely work on me, I don’t want to mess with them! Complete opposite of edible! Maybe I was a hungry predator in a past life who fucked around and found out?

Oddly enough, most venomous snakes are shaped like friends to me! I know better not to, but they look soooo touchable.

[invisibleraven]

ooh double date, rulie + couple of your choice

Ahhhh it's down to the wire in prompt fills today, but I was determined to get this done as a little present for the gorgeous, lovely, wonderful @bananakarenina on her birthday! Love you sweetie, hope you had a day as amazing as you!

“Flynn just texted me,” Julie said, looking up from her phone.

“Like that doesn’t happen with shocking regularity,” Reggie snaked, causing Julie to stick her tongue out at him.

“She met this girl and wants to know if we would double date to give her the best friend seal of approval.”

"Didn't think she'd ever do dating again after the disaster that was Roxie," Reggie commented. "But I'd be down for judging them worthy."

Julie snorted at that and send the text off to Flynn. "Tomorrow night at Rita's Diner?"

Reggie gave her a thumbs up at that and went back to the 3D puzzle of the Millenium Falcon he had been working on.

The hext night, Julie and Reggie got to the diner first, and decided to grab a booth. "You know anything about this girl?" Reggie asked.

"Nope," Julie said with a pop. "We get to be surprised."

"I hope she's nice for Flynn's sake," Reggie sighed. "She's had a lot of stinkers."

"You mean Mari, or Angelica, or Stevie, or just fine Bex?" Julie listed off. That last one they had to intervene with because it was obvious that Flynn was settling and she deserved better than just fine.

"Or the time she tried dating Kayla?" Reggie replied. "It was just weird and awkward because they were friends for so long first."

"I mean so were we and we made it work," Julie replied.

"Damn straight we did, but we're also amazing," Reggie said, nuzzling their noses together.

"Told you they would be here being disgusting," Flynn joked, causing them to pull apart.

"You weren't wrong," her date snarked, but gave them a kind smile. "You're also adorable, so I'm not going to complain like miss allergic to PDA here."

"You're Carrie Wilson," Julie stammered.

"Holy shit you are!" Reggie said with an inhale. "We're both huge fans."

"Why do my friends know of you?" Flynn asked as she slid into the booth.

"I may be in an odd Hallmark movie or two?" Carrie said with a faint blush and a shrug.

"More like a half dozen plus you were hilarious in that limited series about the star incognito," Julie spoke up. "Did you do your own singing for it?"

"I did!" Carrie beamed. "I'm actually in the process of being signed by Capitol to put out my EP."

"Okay, hold up," Flynn said. "You never told me you were famous. I thought you worked at the TV studio."

"I mean, I do," Carrie stated. "I started there as an intern, got pulled in to do background work, and the rest is history. I still do the odd intern job between gigs, but it's helped me make connections and grow. Are you angry?" Her face turned remorseful then, like it would really upset her if Flynn said yes.

"Are you kidding me?" Flynn exclaimed, "It's super cool! Plus it gives me something else to add to the long list of brags I have about you!"

Carrie blushed and smiled softly as she buried her face in Flynn's shoulder.

"Disgusting," Reggie teased.

"But adorable," Julie echoed.

Soon enough they ordered, with Carrie finding the most vegan friendly item, explaining her dad had raised her not eating animal products and she had no desire to change that. Luckily the diner had a large and delicious section of vegan options, with Reggie suggesting the few he had tried, and Julie telling Carrie that they had great vegan milkshakes here, and their friend Willie was always raving about them.

"So how did you two meet?" Julie asked at they were munching away.

"It's funny actually," Flynn replied, her fingers lacing with Carrie's. "You know that exchange program I did senior year? Well I met Carrie there."

"I was not a nice person back then," Carrie admit. "Major diva, with a chip on my shoulder and thought the world was out to get me. But Flynn saw past that, and we formed a weird friendship."

"We lost track of each other afterwards," Flynn added. "Until the other week when we bumped into each other-quite literally-at the coffee shop."

"That is too cute for words," Julie said.

"Straight out of a rom-com," Reggie interjected.

"What about you two?" Carrie asked.

Julie and Reggie exchanged soft glances, leaning their foreheads in. Explaining how Julie caught Reggie and the rest of his band squatting in her garage after all of them ran away. How her dad fostered them and gave them a home and a family who loved and supported them.

"We formed Julie and the Phantoms after that, became really good friends...but then we both developed feelings," Reggie said with a chuckle. "It was a bit weird, because we were friends and her dad had pretty much adopted me, but we couldn't help how we felt."

Julie went on "So one night, Reggie was hiding out in the studio, and I went to have it out with him since he had been doing this avoidance routine. Only it was pouring, and the power went out, so we were trapped-so we had to talk. Finally confessing and getting together as the lightning lit up the sky."

"Wow, that is adorable," Carrie commented.

"And disgusting," Flynn teased. "We all knew it was coming of course. And if there was any guy I trust my bestie with, well Reggie tops that list."

"Love you too Flynnigan," Reggie stated, teasing but sincere deep down.

The meal passed all too quickly, with the four of them getting to know one another, and lingering over dessert to prolong the evening.

Finally, the knew they had to leave, so after a brief fight over the bill, which Reggie and Carrie agreed to split, they wandered out into the night.

"So?" Flynn whispered as Carrie stood off to the side, ordering their car.

"She's lovely," Julie stated. "And she seems to really like you."

"The feeling is mutual," Flynn assured her.

"I like her," Reggie stated. "I mean, we were already fans, but the real her is a delight. I hope we get to see a lot more of her."

"That's the plan," Flynn confessed, then brought them in for a hug. "Thanks for doing this for me."

"Anytime babe," Julie replied. "Now go enjoy the rest of your night."

"Did I pass?" Carrie joked as the Uber pulled up.

"With flying colours!" Reggie replied.

Carrie did a little happy dance at that, then beckoned Flynn over to get in the car. Julie watched them as they came together, looking natural and sift in each other's presence.

"We used to look like that," she whispered.

"Darlin', we still do," Reggie assured her. "I'm still in love with you just like I was all those years ago-maybe more. Never doubt that."

Julie turned and nuzzled into him. "I never do."

Reggie grinned and spun her out, the two of them dancing in the moonlight to the strains of some distant band, and the sound of LA ringing out around them.

"You wanna go finish this date at home Mrs. Molina?" Reggie asked, tucking Julie into his arms after their dance was over. "I think there's a pint of Chunky Monkey and a bed calling our name."

"With you?" Julie teased. "There's no where else I'd rather be Mr. Molina." She pulled him in for a kiss then, the street lights making their wedding bands shine as they embraced, and then linked hands to head on home.

And laughed when Flynn texted her a picture of the two of them nuzzled together in the booth. "Disgustingly Adorable <3"

Julie couldn't help but agree, and saved the photo to add to her collection-every single one showing the two of them being disgustingly, adorably together and in love-a state she hoped would never change. And given how Reggie looked at her as they got home that evening? She doubted it ever would.

[narcissusbrokenmirror]

i bet rn Willie and Alex are having a full weekend date on different parts of Australia. They're going to the art museums in Melbourne, Sydney and Hobard, so Willie can skate and shout somewhere new, they also will be doing some animal observation bc Alex doesn't believe Tasmanian Devils are real but he's interested on the spiders and the snakes and Willie wants to see a kangaroo. They'll be hitting the beach, Willie claiming they're ghosts and can't get wet or sunburned so he can drag Alex into surfing. No doubt Alex will be looking for their music scene at least once. they'll do some shop(lift) as well bc Willie wants to refill his wardrobe and Alex will get some knickknacks for his friends.

and yeah sounds like a lot to do in just three days but transportation won't be a problem for them.

[tricoufamily]

obscure associations tag 2

tagged by @itsmariejanel <33 thank youuu maria did 2 in 1 so i'm also doing 2 in 1 these are the rules beckett green connor purple YIPPEEEEEE

ANIMAL: DOG / a snake or a cat but like. lucifer from cinderella you know

COLORS: green / purple 🤭

MONTH: july / january

SONGS: rocky mountain high by john denver, piano man by billy joel, mammas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys by willie nelson and waylon jennings / mama by my chemical romance, you're gonna go far, kid by the offspring, ptolemaea by ethel cain

NUMBER: 12 / 4

PLANTS: dead grass with a prominent desire path going through it / venus fly trap

SMELLS: the winn-dixie from your childhood, cigarettes (he doesn't even smoke), old furniture / conditioner packet from box hair dye, jolly ranchers, jeans

GEMSTONE: agate / jet

TIME OF DAY: sunrise / 3 am

SEASON: summer / winter

PLACES: backroads, appalachia, abandoned house in the woods / gotham in the batman 2022, closed museum at night, cemetery

FOOD: southern biscuits and gravy / fish

DRINKS: MOUNTAIN DEW / black coffee

ELEMENT: air / fire

ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS: i don't think i've ever given blood sports characters birthdays. please don't make figure out the timeline in minute detail oh god there's so many of them

SEASONINGS: fuck ton of black pepper / garlic and he loves the smell mmm num num num fuck garlic smell haters

SKY: blue and cloudless / pitch black

WEATHER: punishingly hot / bad thunderstorm

MAGICAL POWER: speed / necromancy and he's using it for evil purposes he's bringing random people from the dead to do his bidding

WEAPONS: rifle / his black clip point knives

SOCIAL MEDIA: none #amish / myspace

MAKEUP PRODUCT: he'd despise the texture of all of it / black eyeliner

CANDY: grandma candies from purse / warheads

METHOD OF LONG DISTANCE TRAVEL: hours and hours in his truck with his music playing he loves it / plane

ART STYLE: regular show / arkham knight

FEAR: what comes after death / uhh nothing at all (😐)

MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE: church grim / siren

PIECE OF STATIONARY: chewed on pencil / scissors

THREE EMOJIS: 🚜🦨🥤 / 💀🥀🔪

CELESTIAL BODY: jupiter / black hole

[messinwthkid]

HERE IT IS.

THE BLUES BROTHERS BAND [+ FAMILY] AND WHAT PETS THEY WOULD HAVE:

JAKE:

jake seems like a classic dog guy, but at the same time i would absolutely see him with smth really fucking weird like he brings a snake in n is like "this is jake jr." would be mixed on walking a dog every single day.

ELWOOD:

he likes loud but doesn't at the same time, dog mayb ?? no, he would absolutely get like a fish or a cat- maybe both just for funsies. he wouldn't exactly get a pet tho officially, he would find smth in an alleyway that vaguely looks like a cat n go "hell yeah"

MACK:

DOG. BIG FLUFFY DOG. CRUSTY EYED WHITE DOG YOU NAME IT THIS MAN WOULD GET A DOG. fun n absolutely whimsical like him ! not much 2 say abt him unfortunately, but i am absolutely certain mack is a golden retriever dude

CURTIS:

i don't really think he'd actually get a pet ? curtis has lots on his plate already and pets are a lot to handle, but he probs has smth nice like a fish. fish are complicated yes, but he thinks he has the gist of it, likes to come down to the basement after a long day and put on a record, watch the fish swimming around and talk to it. has a fish care routine

BUSTER:

something ridiculous. elwood and sister mary do not trust this creature with animals so the closest thing would be some real "my first pet !!!1!1!" stuff like a hamster who gets lost in the bluesmobile on the way home from the store and is never found again. that or a skink he found in a puddle and decided was cool

CAB:

most likely a cat ! something sleek, smart and sort of mirrors him in a way. he likes how mischievous cats are along with the history and such of cats being worshipped and decides cats are pretty neat. absolutely not an animal person but warms up to the cat after a while and then devotes all of his possessions to it

SISTER MARY:

turtle. that's it. turtle. specifically the really angry one from the amazing world of gumball. yeah, the one that dried up but somehow lived ?? like cab, the turtle mirrors her in a way where it looks alright but will bite you if you come toward it. she has to feed it with a pair of tongs

ALAN:

a fish, just one though, and just one he will have. he watches the other bandmembers pets from time to time and doesn't exactly mind animals, just does not have the time or energy to be taking care of anything but himself at the moment with such a busy schedule being in the band and having like, every job ever in the highbrow end of town

TOM:

gerbil- i have no idea !!!! a rodent that's really strange looking but he absolutely adores it, shows it off to everyone and sacrifices things to it. the rodent is insane and tom doesn't keep it in an enclosure or anything overnight or if he's out so you just have to hope and pray u have not let the gerbil out into the street to commit mass crime

LOU:

doggie :] that or !!!! a bird :]]]] something whimsical like mack's animal choices. lou probably enjoys walks outside, song and something that finds interest in everything like a bird or a dog. even though you can't exactly walk a bird he will absolutely try, he will buy a little baby harness and take that bird for a walk down the street.

MURPH:

this man is a farm, he goes to pet supply stores just to take the crickets home [he has no animals that eat crickets, he just wants crickets], will get everything he sees. has a little crusty eyed white dog that he dresses up and goes full old lady mode on. ur honour murph is just a little old woman leave him alone in his farmhouse with his little creatures

WILLIE:

willie is absolutely strange and outspoken and i love him. he gets a spider, a cool little jumping spider that he hangs out with- it takes him a while to warm up to it as well, like others, but he ends up really appreciating insects n bugs more when he spends time watching his spider or letting it crawl on his hands, a desk or just around in its little house

STEVE:

this man gives off country boy cowgirl cowboy girl boy horsegirl energy and i will NOT accept anything else. steve is a horsegirl he goes to the stables n specifically choses this one horse to hang out with so much that it's straight up his horse now. country boyyyyy i loooove uuuuuuuu

DONALD:

crusty eyed white dog. this came up before with murph but istg he would be such a crust dog defender. "it's cute ! stop it !!" he can't even bring it to band practice anymore because the band think it's a creature from the underworld. his problem is he keeps getting them. he has one in the 70s that freaks the entire band out and then again in the 90s he's like "hey guys" and pulls out a CRUST DOG

MATT:

a bird :] something like lou but i think i'm leaning toward bird because birds are fun, annoying, musical and are great for loneliness. mrs. murphy hates the bird but matt will not take bird slander, tries to teach the bird to talk and has little conversations with it. animals in general trust him with just a look from how idk. trustworthy matt looks - i would trust him with my drink 100%

[spidermilkshake]

Gifts

More RE fanfics--more mutants, more corporate shenanigans. This one's actually pretty sweet after the pure monster abuse displayed in the last one.

Rating: Teen (TW for suggestive language, human experimentation, dehumanization, medical/lab settings and stuff, plus also human adults cuss like human adults)

In which we meet a Dr. Ramirez--an Umbrella scientist partially responsible for T-00's existence as a prototype new phase of T-103. This man has some... quirks. Though it does result in hat-related greatness.

4: Gifts

            The Tyrant stood immobile in the center of the much smaller room—not quite a lab, not quite a holding chamber—awaiting another command from the trio of Umbrella staff gathered around it. Dr. Ramirez clapped once with animated fervor, grinning up at the entity towering over him.

            “Isn’t he fantastic?” the man gushed, and the taller doctor standing by the door let out an almost imperceptible snort. T-00 had the continuing impression that Birkin chafed under the energy that the T-103 phase 4’s director put out. It did not find such a reaction particularly reasonable. Dr. Ramirez was clear and concise in his commands, and logical in his procedures, methodology… As far as the Tyrant had seen. As the doctor circled around it once more, hands raised as if presenting the hulking form to the others, it remained passive and still to allow itself to be gawked at.

            “You saw the latest trial run, yes? Absolutely blew the other subjects away! I’m telling you, I was onto something with this one. Imagine the newest wave of T-103s with these improvements, this discretion, this intellect at no sacrifice to power—”

            “You know how I feel about that… ‘intellect’ part,” Birkin sneered, running a hand through his greasy blond hair, “Especially after what we’re hearing from the Arklay labs. You know that’s why those early-model Tyrants were shelved.”

            Ramirez pouted, patting a hand against the side of T-00’s massive bicep as if to console it, “What, Willy—this not enough meat for you?”

            “Don’t start with that,” he snapped back, “I’m just not comfortable with B.O.W.s being left up to their own decision-making. However limited this thing’s is.”

            “He didn’t mean it,” Ramirez stage-whispered over to the bioweapon with a smirk.

            “Stop that.” Birkin scowled and crossed his arms, “I’m just saying that giving it that much higher brain function is unpredictable. Instinct is predictable. And predictable in a killing machine is good.”

            “Well, I’m just saying that I find raging phallic meat-monsters a little ineffective. And gauche. Not to mention creepy,” he cocked an eyebrow.

            “Creepy?!” Birkin’s voice jointly cracked and went shrill, and he disentangled his arms from each other to square up, “You don’t think this thing is creepy?” The Tyrant twitched its head over in a sharp movement as William aimed a strong shove at its chest. The creature’s right hand snaked up and before Birkin could retreat or take out any more frustration on the stoic beast it had clamped a thumb, index, and middle finger firmly around the wrist of the intruding limb. Holding him there against the man’s budding panic, T-00 stared down at this flimsy human in mild confusion, wondering what he’d hoped to accomplish with this.

            “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Ramirez’s voice dripped with an almost sadistic glee. “He’s a level-headed fellow, but he’s not above appropriate response.”

            “C—call it off—!” The doctor had paled sheet-white, completely unable to remove himself from even this very dainty-looking grip. Dr. Ramirez snickered but nodded towards the Tyrant’s expectant glance. The mighty fingers loosened and Birkin went staggering back, glaring at the bioweapon with a renewed wariness. T-00 slipped back into its more docile posture; once the unimportant exchange was over its gaze centered once again on the animation of Dr. Ramirez.

            “Don’t look at ‘im like that,” he laughed, “T-00 wouldnt’ve actually hurt you. He was just getting a point across!” The man’s thin mustache quirked, “Now, if you’d tried that with a weapon you’d not be in very good shape.”

            “So how the hell if anyone supposed to work on these things?”

            “Simply ask them nicely to stay still,” Ramirez scoffed, “Be civil with the big guy, and he’ll be civil with you. You see what I mean about the benefits of that intelligence now, hm?”

            “I know what you’re trying to say, but I for one do not want to be around the first time that malfunctions.” Birkin sighed, “Okay, fine, fine. I’m wasting time here now. I’ll file that recommendation, but I really should be getting a flight back. I have too much work to do testing the new G strain.”

            “Excellent. Well then, might as well get some practice in, off the record,” the smaller man chuckled. The third human, a lab tech furiously jotting notes, winced and jumped in surprise as Ramirez clapped her chummily on the shoulder, “I’ve been ready for this—be a dear and grab my briefcase from the table over next to you, please?” She seemed to hold back her reluctance and displeasure at being asked to do something so menial and passed the fairly large leather case over to him. The Tyrant watched him click a three-number combination into its latch and pop it open, before cheerily slipping something small and dark out. Whatever it was, the man handled it with a bizarre, loving care—unrolling a thin, rigid edge from it and pushing its center out so that its flat form became convex. The bioweapon could not make out what it was even in its revealed state; it was a stiff thing… felted fabric and leather, mostly round, hollow on one side, with a narrow brim surrounding it, one side tilted down to a point, the other upwards and flared.

            “Oh Goddamnit Ramirez.” Birkin did seem to know what it was, all too well. The scientist ignored the other’s derisive tone and held the… object up between his hands—almost with reverence—and nodded towards T-00:

            “Here, T-00—I’ve got something for ya…”

            “Jesus Christ, really?” Birkin snarled, arms crossing again, “You’re giving it your damn fedora?”

            “It’s a trilby, you uncultured swine,” Ramirez gave an indignant snort. He turned back to the bioweapon, beaming, “Can you bend your head down, big guy?”

            T-00 assumed this was an order, or at least close enough. It bent one knee, ducking its head down low enough that the tiny entity could reach it. The felted interior of the strange item was settled squarely onto the top of its skull; it pondered the function of this task even as it stayed bowed for the scientist to shift the thing’s brim about, making adjustments.

            “There we go.” Ramirez chortled, “Really completes the look.”

            Dr. Birkin just blew out a harsh noise of exasperation. T-00 slowly rose back up. Two of its fingers raised experimentally to probe at the unfamiliar item resting over its rough, featureless scalp. The thing was large enough to sit there snugly—though it did not cover all that much. What an… inefficient piece of… head gear? The creature gave a rare blink to express its puzzlement.

            “That’s your hat now, T-00. Should help tell you apart better,” Ramirez snickered, “especially now that you’ll have your new assignment.”

            At this, the bioweapon’s head tilted a few degrees, instantly alert for what the doctor had to say. New orders. It would always obey, but something about the way this human issued the commands made it want to obey with even greater alacrity. Dr. Ramirez had also yet to set it on any objective the creature found truly unpleasant to fulfill—something welcome by now considering the first exercise of its purpose…

            “T-00, you are assigned protective orders. Your assignment—yours truly, the one and only Dr. Julian Ramirez. Prevent harm from coming to me until I or a superior staff member dismisses you. Hmm…” The man appeared to twist up his expressive brows in thought, leaving the Tyrant hanging for the next syllable, “Also, I think you should answer to a pseudonym… let’s see… how’s ‘Mr. X’ sound?”

            “What.” Birkin looked even more disapproving of his peer’s particular charms than ever.

            “Hey, better than John Doe, yeah? Come on, you never listened to any classic radio dramas?” Ramirez gestured broadly to the attentive mutant, “I liked ‘The Man Named X’. And look at ‘im. Fits fantastically!”

            “Somehow doubt any of your damn detective swill imagined any character as a crusty gray monster, seven foot nine and half as wide…”

            “And Dick Tracy couldn’t put a boot through an armored car. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses.” The doctor met the awaiting gaze of the armored car-mangler in question, “So be it. T-00—you will also respond to codename ‘Mr. X’ until ordered to cease doing so. Understood?”

            The Tyrant did. It stood slightly more upright and replied with a slow, creaky nod—unused to the newly-learned gesture. It was “Mr. X”. It was T-00. T-00 was Mr. X—synonymous. It had a name. So be it.

[adultswim2021]

Cheyenne Cinnamon and the Fantabulous Unicorn of Sugar Town Candy Fudge: “Pilot” | February 16, 2010 (online) | Pilot Debuted on DVD on October 27, 2009 Aired on television March 29, 2010 @ 12:15AM 

I’m not sure I’ve watched this since it aired on TV in 2010. There’s a reason for that.

Cheyenne Cinnamon and the Fantabulous Unicorn of Sugar Town Candy Fudge originally debuted on DVD as part of the Adult Swim Pilots DVD, which was originally part of the Adult Swim in a Box DVD set. It had it’s non-home-video debut online as part of the Burger King Big, Über, Network Sampling event, where people were invited to log on and vote between two shows that were ostensibly competing with one another for a shot at airing on television and then, MAYBE, becoming a series. The first match-up happened on February 16, and was between this and Snake ‘n Bacon, which previously aired on TV and was covered already.

Cheyenne Cinnamon is a vapid pop-star in a similar vein as, uh (tries to look up who was a current female pop star around in 2009), Britney Spears (sorry, it was too hard), projecting a wholesome image while having an unsavory dark side that involves drugs and promiscuity.

Cheyenne lives in her Sugar Town Candy Fudge which presumably exists as a sorta girl-version of Neverland Ranch. The difference between boy Neverland Ranch is that it exists to aid and abet the molestation of little boys. Girl Neverland Ranch exists presumably for similar reasons, except she is in a permanent state of arrested development due to her own sexual abuse. But that’s not really what this is about. It’s more about how whoreish pop stars are HYPOCRITES. 

Emily is a young fan of Cinnamon’s, voiced by Kristen Schall. She’s an awkward girl who was impregnated by her softball coach. She lives in Detroit, which is depicted as a dystopian hellscape, basically Robocop stuff. Cheyenne Cinnamon’s magical land is just outside of Detroit, and Emily seeks her out for guidance. Cheyenne Cinnamon is of no help, and winds up doing more harm than good. There’s songs, which are okay. Cheyenne Cinnamon is voiced by Neko Case from FREAKING HIPSTER MUSIC, but her singing voice is actually Sofia Toufa, likely a contractual thing. They do make jokes about Cheyenne clearly lip-syncing; at one point she loses interest in her song and wanders away, lighting a cig. 

The animation was CGI, and it looked roughly a little better than Lucy: Daughter of the Devil. But not as good as Xavier: Renegade Angel. Does that make any sense? Probably not. And yet it’s completely true. 

This was created by Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro. There’s a lotta familiar voices in this thing, including one Chris Ward, aka MC Chris. I read, and vaguely remembered, that he was the one who rallied his fanbase to vote for this during the Burger King event. It subsequently won, subsequently aired, and subsequently sucked. I hated this!

Snake ‘n’ Bacon > Cheyenne Cinnamon

Burger King Big, Über, Network Sampling 

The BKBUNS (hey, it was an acronym this whole time! Who knew?) was, as previously mentioned, an event where viewers were urged to vote on various pilots that went head-to-head in various match-ups. Then the winners from those match-ups went against each other until there was a clear victor. Spoiler alert, Cheyenne Cinnamon won. 

I don’t fully recall how it worked, but I do remember it seemed a little bit like a mess. One pilot had multiple versions presented, and one show wound up having TWO pilot episodes, the second of which dropped after voting already started. I think. I don’t actually know that, honestly. I remember feeling discouraged from voting because it seemed like the stuff you were voting on kept morphing into different versions of itself, like if a presidential candidate suddenly sprouted a second head on election day.

Starting with this year, I’m making a push towards legitimizing online content in certain cases. Originally the idea was to just cover what aired on TV, but the line between online and TV had already begun blurring. Most shows primarily have their TV airdates available, but I’m not going to go out of my way to determine if they debuted online a few days before. I think I mentioned this elsewhere, but there was a time when they actually debuted new episodes online first, then they’d air on TV a few days later. Pinning down all those dates seems like a nightmare, though. But stuff like this just makes more sense. 

The matchups will be mentioned as I cover each pilot. My original research for this told me that a UK version of this existed that used “Gumball” (The Amazing World of, I assume?) as one of the pilots? But that piece of information seems to have disappeared. Could it be bogus? I don’t think I care either way!

I am pretty sure that screenshot is from one of the promos. I couldn't find one to check (I didn't really try, honestly), but I think they literally were mostly text, and that bit of Robot-Chicken-style animation was like, 2 seconds long and just was of that guy smiling. A terrific gift. I hope I dream about this man tonight. Goodnight!

[the-leech-lord]

STIMBOARD MASTERLIST PART 2

I reached the link limit on the first one

Monster Musume

Miia

Papi

Centorea

Mero

Suu

Rachnera

Dragonball Z

Son Goku

Vegeta

Piccolo

Jeice

Frieza

Ginyu

Trans Goku & Gay Vegeta

V the Series

The visitors

Ham Tyler

Willie

Transformers More Than Meets The Eye

Tarn

Dogengers

Yamashiron

El Brave

Yabai Kamen

Ohgaman

Undertale + AUs

Underfresh Sans

Aftertale Sans

Flowerfell Frisk

Underfell Papyrus

Underswap Sans

Nightmare Sans

Horrortale Sans

Reapertale Sans

Dusttale Sans

Sans and Papyrus

Errortale Sans

One Piece

Roronoa Zoro

Enel

Tony Tony Chopper

Crocodile

Iceburg

Blackleg Sanji

Bon Clay

Aokiji

Red Haired Shanks

Nami

Edward ‘Whitebeard’ Newgate

Franky

Caesar Clown

Robin

Doflamingo

Luffy X Buggy

Gay & trans Luffy

Chopper eating drywall

RuPaul’s Drag Race

Nymphia Wind

Detox’s Season 5 promo look

Coco Montrese Season 5 Think Pink look

Q’s Season 16 Faster Pussycat, Wig Wig! Look

April Carrion Season 6 Best Drag look

Courtney Act Season 6 Animal Kingdom Couture Look

Charlie Hides Season 9 White Party Realness Look

Nina Bo’Nina Brown Season 9 Princess Fantasy Look

Anime

60 anime stimboard challenge

Yotsuba Nakano from The Quintessential Quintuplets

Beethoven from Classicaloid

Tohru from Miss Kobayashi’s Dragonmaid

Konata Izumi from Lucky Star

America from Hetalia

Death the Kid from Soul Eater

L from Death Note

Crimveal from Interspecies Reviewers

Miku day stimboards

Sand Planet by Hachi

StargazeR by Kotsuban-P

World is Mine by Ryo

Deep Sea Girl by Yuuyu-P

Senbonzakura by Kurousa-P

Slowmotion by Pinocchio-P

My Little Pony

Rainbow Dash

Cupcakes Pinkamena Diane Pie

Princess Cadence

DC Comics

Ambush Bug

Arkham Knight Riddler

Batman The Animated Series Riddler

Batman The Animated Series Two Face

Booster Gold

Reverse Flash

Misc

Kamen Rider Ichigo

1984

Purple snake

Girl by Daoko

Blackie from Nightmare Cafe

Smiley from The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

The Warden from Superjail

Comic Collecting

Mafuyu Asahina from Project Sekai

Big Al from Vocaloid

Raised by the World Wide Web by Crustsox

Literally Me by Cyborg9k

Kinito from Kinitopet

Charlie from Smiling Friends

Pim from Smiling Friends

Masterlist Part 1

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

11 13 20 21 from the character game for gríma?

OOoooh yesss, more questions! More questions! <3 <3 <3

[From this ask meme]

11. What’s the first thing you think about when thinking about the character? oooo word association time!

First thing I think when my brain goes "It's Grima Wormtongue Time! (tm)": Snake man. Damp. Seidr. ¿Gender?

From there it usually goes to whatever thing it is that I'm working on - so if I'm thinking through, for example, marriage and courting rituals of Rohan and how they might look depending on class/gender/end-result (i.e., marriage or lover or side piece etc.) then my brain will do Grima Time (tm) and the first thing will be: how does it work with him and in what ways does he do it slightly sideways?

Everything about Grima is a little pear-shaped, at the end of the day.

13. Your favorite friendship they have

In canon? Grima’s friendship with his own sarcasm. Poor man doesn’t have friends—or none that we are shown, I should say.

In head-canon? Well, in Swimming Through Fire, Grima and Legolas’ friendship is the best thing that happened outside of my accidental creation of Downey’s friend Willis.

I’ve given him a bit of a right-hand guy in What Makes a Kynge (i.e., Team Up and Scheme fic). His name is Eadric and he’s got the world’s meanest daughter and I love her. Anyway, Eadric and Grima are quasi-friends. They’re as close to friend as Grima can get in a world where he’s not been forced to do work on changing himself (YET. He has some revelations, they just happen in different fashions).

20. A weird headcanon

I’m not sure I have a weird head-canon for him. What constitutes weird? I suppose, I head-canon that post-war, when Eomer needs to do something with him that uses his skillset but obviously he can’t hold his former position, he ends up being like a brew-master.

BECAUSE. Brewing is associated with magic/sorcery due to its transformative nature (the art of brewing itself, also alcohol as a transformative substance has a longstanding history), and Grima spent large whacks of his childhood avoiding his brothers and so spent it in the kitchen or the weaving room (g E n D e R t H i N g S) and learned how to brew from his mother.

Aside from brewing, though, he ends up inventing forensic science because there’s a few weird deaths that are sus and Grima is like “what if we cut open the body and looked inside?” and people were like “you’re a sick freak, we always knew that, but wow next level.” Eomer though is like, “wait. Let the man speak.” So Grima gets to do some slicing and poking around and being like “oh so that’s what a human liver looks like. I’ve only ever seen various animal ones.”

Anyway, mostly he’s like the weird brewer and sells dubious herbs and Eomer doesn’t ask him for advice from time to time but Eomer totally asks him for advice from time to time.

21. When do you think they were at their happiest?

I don’t know if Grima can ever allow himself to be fully happy. I really don’t think he has it in him, which is sad and also yikes my dude, get help.

But the closes he’s been to happy? I think early days in Theoden’s court when it looked like there was a whole big world to play for and Grima was new, young, less jaded, not bitter or resentful yet, and just looking at all these possibilities before him. It would have been exciting, thrilling, also lots of challenges and he’d be learning so much and loving it.

Post war? I hope he finds something like contentment. Or as close to it as he can get, being who he is. His weird, new position might be interesting enough for him that he’d like it. Brewing means you do a lot of socializing, but it also means you get a lot of secrets from people and he is a small dragon who loves to hoard things so he collects everyone’s secrets and keeps them in his pocket.

Day to day? I suspect he’s most content/adjacent to happy when listening to stories or songs and histories. He’s also happy when riddling or doing the many and varied word games that they would have had to pass the time. He would be always happy to initiate people into whatever their version of Green Glass Door is. If there’s some problem or puzzle to solve or something to tinker with, he likely is happy doing that.

----

Thank you so much! I loved this and these were all fun to think through. Especially the "Grima Is Now Local Brewer, His Beer Probably Has Mild Hallucinogenics In It" plot. (Granted, a lot of late antiquity and early medieval ale did. He's hardly alone in that. And it did serve a ritual purpose alongside the just having fun aspect of it.)

[ifuckinglovedinosaurssomuchjesus]

Reviewing every Dinosaur movie ever: #6 The Ghost of Slumber Mountain

RELEASE DATE: November 17, 1918

SYNOPSIS: Two young boys demand that their uncle tell them a story, which he relents, describing the time he went hiking up slumber mountain where it is said a haunted house is inhabited by the ghost of an old hermit. Making camp for the night, he is awoken by a voice beckoning him forward until he comes across the house. Inside he finds bones and books on prehistoric animals as well as a strange instrument, like a spyglass. The voice continues to call, and he walks till he reaches a cliff, where the ghost of the hermit himself stands telling him to look through the glass. Remarkably, the glass lets him see millions of years into the past, were he witnesses a Brontosaurus bathing, a Gastornis hunting a snake, two Triceratops battling for dominance, and the brutal attack of the Tyrannosaurus as it kills and consumes one of the horned dinosaurs. Suddenly, the T. rex turns on him, and he runs as fast as he can, firing at the monster until it’s almost upon him, where he awakes from his dream. Having revealed it all to be fake, the boys begin to playfully attack their uncle.

THOUGHTS: Willis O’Brien collaborates with the lesser known but still important special effects artist Herbert M. Dawley to bring to life one of the earliest, true dinosaur movies. They’ve played characters or bit parts before, but outside of Gertie and her rip-offs, they’re never the focus. Here, however, even though only in a few mostly disconnected scenes, dinosaurs are the main focus. Not just that, but dinosaurs as animals, just existing and socializing and hunting. It’s a major step and the blood of this movie runs in modern dinosaur media favorites like Walking With Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Planet.

Another first is, of course, our beloved King of the Dinosaurs himself! Yes, this is the cinematic debut of Tyrannosaurus rex, and quite fittingly the first thing it does is kill and eat a Triceratops before trying to do the same to a tiny human. Traditions as old as time it appears. It’s also the debut of Triceratops, but that gets less fanfare as expected, can’t beat the king.

The whole movie, while short at about 13 minutes, does give off a very surreal feeling. The movie being in black and white highlights the shadows and the film grain makes it feel like you’re peering through the dark to see the stop-motion animals, the lack of sound beyond the constantly playing piano as well as the set-up of haunted houses and secluded mountains make the whole thing feel eerie. They cut back to the uncle several times, possibly specifically to remove the tension by reminding the audience it’s all just a story, but it still never shakes the spooky feeling. 

Now, I know the dinosaurs appear through time travel shenanigans and that the title refers to the ghost of the hermit, but the movie does plant the idea of ghost dinosaurs in your head, and I think a modern remake or spiritual successor that capitalizes on the film’s eeriness could make for something truly unique. Until then, I'm happy with what we’ve got. Check it out if you want to see such a monumental moment in Dinosaur film history.

RATING: 7/10