#haunted is the best episode in the series tbh

[theselfshippingwitch]

so i saw frozen empire last night and other than reaffirming my undying and eternal devotion to ray here's my thoughts (including spoilers):

I was not expecting Phoebe and Ray to basically be the deuteragonists of this movie but i have never been so not disappointed about something in my entire life. I loved both their character arcs and i loved the relationship between them. I love that Ray seems to be the adult Phoebe goes to for advice on things that she doesn't want to talk to her family about, and I love that she calls him "Dr. Ray", that's so cute!

The end to the conflict of "Ray still wants to be involved in the Ghostbusting business, but Winston thinks he's too old" is literally just Ray proving Winston wrong and showing he's still a very valuable asset to the team, and... I have no notes 10/10

The scenes with Phoebe and the ghost girl were some of my favorite scenes tbh, really cute first crush vibes coming from Phoebe, they really nailed the John Hughes teen romance feel they said they were going for in interviews

But also, weird amount of parallels between this movie and the Twilight series??? The Robert Frost poem at the beginning, paranormal romance between teenage girl and supernatural creature, the girl becomes the same type of supernatural creature to be with her love interest, obviously not exactly the same but i couldn't help but notice

Wish they would find more for Janine and Winston to do in these movies, Janine in the GB uniform gave me more the vibes of the Q5 episodes of RGB where's she's in the uniform and with the guys and then she just... literally doesn't do anything. Movie!Janine isn't as bad, but I wish they had more for her to do than show up and say something sassy.

Why did Winston get upset with Phoebe for destroying the stone lion that was attacking her? Why didn't she explain that the possessor ghost made the lion come to life and almost kill her? Did he not know the possessor ghost escaped the lab? That whole scene threw me off tbh

Best part overall was the repossessed podcast scene, i want a special feature on the blu-ray that's just this Ray Stantz Giving Vincent Price Vibes Hosting Haunted Antiques Roadshow scene

tl;dr me too peter im proud of ray for giving up smoking in the 90s

[golbrocklovely]

finally, after so long, here is my review of the conjuring series/hell week.

this is EXTREMELY LONG so strap in, grab a drink, and a snack. or, feel free to skip to the end to read my overall thoughts lol

like previous hell weeks, i'm gonna rate each episode and then answer whether or not i would rewatch the episode.

lmk what you guys thought !

episode one:

the obvious meat and potatoes of this whole video was satori and cody's method, which i'm just gonna refer to as The Method just bc it's easier to say then writing out their names over and over again lol

i'll be honest with you, i'm super glad that snc did their best to debunk the tapping and whatnot. i honestly think that if they hadn't tried, a lot of ppl wouldn't believe them at all or would think that either they're lying, or satori and cody are.

as for the answers that satori and cody gave… it's hard. bc on one hand i truly do believe in psychics and mediums. i myself have experienced readings or things i have done on my own. i have had a lot of things happen to me that just logically don't make sense. i do believe there are ppl that have the ability to talk to the dead. but part of me is weary of satori and cody. idk know them from a hole in the wall. they could have easily researched snc, and their past relatives, and just bullshitted the rest. same thing with their producer. it's not hard to look up someone's ancestry. i would like to believe that isn't the case, but you can't be too sure.

the debunking that snc tried did make a strong case for The Method, especially doing it in random locations that they didn't know about. but again… idk. part of me just felt like i was side-eying the whole time. and look, i want to believe that they have good intentions and they are genuinely contacting something. but again, ppl lie for far less.

but no matter if they were lying or not, i 100% believe snc's reaction to it. it was real for them, and that's all that really matters to me tbh.

i felt really bad for sam, or i guess happy for him but sad that he was crying so much. my theory with him has always been that even tho he has experienced attachments and heard things, seen things, all that jazz - i truly think for the longest time he never fully believed. i think he would rather chalk up a paranormal experience as a group psychosis before saying a place was haunted. but since that probably wouldn't bode well for either of them, he just agreed that what they experienced was "crazy" and moved on like nothing happened. also, i have this general feeling that he doesn't believe his own experiences, which is why he questions ppl like colby when he goes thru something, but i haven't really fleshed out why that could be the case. but i think this was his "come to jesus" moment, so to speak. i mean, he explained it himself that he honestly didn't think there was anything after this life. that once you died, you're gone. so this was both great and terrifying news to hear. not to mention, to hear it from your dead grandmother was definitely surprising for sure. i honestly hope this brought him some closure or comfort. bc i know i always felt really sad growing up that my grandparents, literally all of them, never got to see me graduate high school or college or perform on stage. but i always had a feeling that they watched me do all of that so it's nice to hear that for someone else, that was the case.

granted, The Method could just be bullshit to conjure up an emotional response for views and notoriety… but for now, i'm gonna just take it at face value. sure, it's real. i think what also makes me lean towards that is that cody and satori don't charge ppl for this. it only happens at the conjuring for the most part, so…. unless they start becoming a side-show circus act with a big ticket price, i'm just gonna take them at their word. plus, the random locations snc took them to, unless the boys are in on it (which opens up too many cans of worms), The Method wouldn't have been able to work in these spots or actually have satori and cody come up with real ppl that died there.

i will say tho, it was kinda funny that sam's having this emotional breakdown over hearing his grandmom telling him she's watching over him and his siblings, and then colby's getting his great grandfather coming thru to tell him to tell his parents that he's there lol like…. thanks dude i never met. appreciate the love and support.

overall this episode was fine. it wasn't my favorite of the series, but it wasn't a bad way to start the series. this episode did draw me in enough to want to see the rest, but i was also a little weary of what was to come.

(oh yeah i forgot to add that the new owner… something feels deeply off about her. like i can't put my finger on it, but if it comes out years down the line that she was bringing demons into the house or something, i will not be surprised lol)

rating: 3/5

would i rewatch: yeah i guess, but not fully

~~~~~~~~

episode two:

so going into this episode, i was a bit… not excited, since i knew amanda was going to be in the video. i've always had my reservations with her. mostly, i think she has abilities, i just think she talks them up to be something that they aren't. plus she has made some comments in past videos that just make me look at her sideways bc they don't make a lick of fucking sense (ie queen mary, she talked to a ghost that said he had lived other lives before this one, he was just stuck in this one for some reason, and she literally told snc she didn't believe that bc "reincarnation isn't in the bible" …..BRO, you talk to the dead. maybe not everything in a 2000+ year old book that's been translated 150+ times is gonna be accurate. also again, need i remind you, YOU TALK TO DEAD PPL). as for how i felt about her during this episode, she was fine, i guess. the only time she annoyed me was during the estes method where her and sam were just bouncing off one another in the worse way lol but i'll get more into that later.

i think it was really interesting that they interviewed andrea perron. they need to do that more often: find ppl that used to live in these places that they visit and get their story, instead of just listening to tour guides who amp up the scares just bc they need to. i thought her interview was really intriguing and i can only imagine how horrible it must have been to live in that house all the way back then. and to see your mother get thrown across the room?? idk what i would even do as a kid in that moment.

so the first part of the investigation was with amanda, snc, and cody and satori. (side note, i love that the touch toy for the ghost kids is a basset hound). i think this whole first part was kinda funny only bc in my most cynical mind, it's three fake mediums trying to one up each other the whole time lol

i don't fully believe that, but that's what my mind kept going back to.

i do find it odd that amanda couldn't see her past relatives but The Method was able to allow them to talk. idk, if i could see dead ppl, i think i would be a bit pissed if my loved ones were like "nah, i know you got the vision but i ain't showing myself in front of you". it also doesn't really help her case of what her abilities are or how strong they are if she can't even see ppl she actually once knew.

i also find it odd that all loved ones are apparently able to get across is "watching over __" bc both snc and now amanda got that message. again, to me, this just reads as like someone in this scenario is faking something. idk what, but i just remember laughing at this whole part bc it just felt funny to watch each one try to one up the other and then snc are just like :O the whole time.

and what made this top tier comedy to me was sam asking who wrote amanda's name, and them saying it was a spirit. i'm so sorry…. but you gotta be on fucking CRACK to think that happened. i believe in ghost, the paranormal, the whole enchilada………. but a ghost soldier wrote amanda's name in the sand???? no. sorry. that didn't happened. and you cannot tell me it did lmao

honestly in situations like this, i'm more incline to believe equipment than these, respectfully, quack jobs.

i thought it was sweet that colby kept being really nice to abigail and calling her the matriarch of the house. isn't he just a sweet boy lol

the second half of the day 2 was where i got more interested and into the video. the rempod going off constantly, the camera immediately dying, that little cabinet door opening, all of that in like five minutes is crazy. and then the estes method, while interesting, was also deeply annoying since sam and amanda decided to tag team and do the one thing i hate that they try to do during the estes method - connect everything while the words are still coming out. like CALM DOWN. connect later. it was freaky to see the rempod going off in time with their estes method tho.

the woods session was kinda cool. idk how i feel about the alice box yet. why does it only say some words but the others are just on the little text box? whatever i guess. gonna be honest, woods don't really scare me for paranormal reasons. i'm more inclined to believe i'm gonna get my ass eaten by a bear or stabbed by a human so it wasn't really all that creepy, but it was cool to see this half. and then to have snc sleep in the woods… props. but to be in the woods in august in hoodies was a choice i wouldn't make, personally.

day three josh and seth came and thank GOD there were ppl in this series/episode i actually liked that joined them. their half made the video a lot better. so they start off by doing the ritual, which honestly just felt more like (literally) dancing on someone's grave so…. idk about that one. a bit disrespectful if you ask me. colby literally did the ice spice on her grave… boy i would haunt your ass for eternity for that one lmao

hearing andrea perron speak of that fateful night of her mother being possessed, again, my heart breaks for her. whether you believe in the paranormal or not, something traumatic happened to her and her family. and i just feel for her.

so when they moved on into the investigation, i just gotta say, if they plan to use the spirit box, they NEED to invest in a microphone or a better speaker for that thing bc good god i couldn't hear a single thing that was coming thru. but moving past the spirit box, the door to the library just opening on it's own?? and the camera moving slightly?? that's nuts. bc it's one thing for a draft to open a door. you're talking about the middle of august tho. there's not gonna be strong winds (for the most part) during that time of the year unless it's storming. so if a draft blew the door open, it had to have been a HUGE one to literally push a rock out of the way. and it can't be ac bc then that door would be constantly opening.

when they separated, i get why they did, but like… why do you have to do it in the dark? i would be turning on flashlights or some form of light immediately. you're not about to catching me busting my ass on the stairs of a 300+ year old house lol

josh's sleeve moving was actually kinda freaky, ngl. i know it was very subtle, and technically could have just him moving his arm and then feeling the sleeve pull or relax or whatever, but to me… it looked like something pulled it.

then when snc went in alone, i find it funny to think of a spirit just running up and down the stairs, fucking with the rempod or the motion sensor, just to see them freak out. when sam invited whatever it was up to them, and then it got near the motion thing, and colby noped out of there and literally yelled at sam like "why did you invite it up here with us?!" ngl - favorite part of the whole video. also it was kinda cute that snc tried to do The Method on their own. kinda wish it would have worked for them.

colby doing the whole "imagine being andrea perron" speech he gave…. colby, can you not? also, are you good? lol

okay, so my overall thoughts on this episode - dragged in the beginning, but got good half way thru. they also got some really good evidence outside of The Method, which i would rather they not use every episode (but end up doing regardless).

rating: 3.5/5

would i rewatch: sure, but only the second half

~~~~~~~~

episode three

so the previous episode left off with sam going into the basement late at night, almost looking possessed or something. and while i obviously didn't think that, i did want to know why he would go down there alone for some reason.

but that's for a later point in this review. let's get to the collab they did.

larray and bella…….. omg, i'll just be completely honest: i hated this collab. like genuinely, it takes a lot for me to find ppl insufferable, but larray took the cake this time. bella was fine, she seemed nice and did her best. and i love that me and @xplrvibes literally said "oh i bet they're gonna try to say bella is an empath bc she's a girl bc they do that all the time" and WOULDN'T YOU BELIEVE IT 11 minutes in they asked if she was one. i'm just glad she said no lol but back to larray……. first off, that shirt was a choice. and i'll leave it at that. but secondly, i'm okay with ppl joking is scary situations. i'm okay with them having guests that hear them say something insane and then immediately go "yeah fuck no to that, i'm leaving" or some iteration of that joke. but, larray took it too far. i don't think he said anything else other than "i don't want to be here" ect. and i get he was scared, but GOD, SHUT UP. like i got it the first five times you said it, i don't need to hear it the next 24. it literally took for him to get a message from the beyond to get him to be quiet.

i'll be honest, i don't even want to review this half of the video bc it was SUCH a drag. i remember i wasn't even half way thru and i was like… oh you're joking, we're not done yet? bc that's how annoying that whole section was. it wasn't solely larray, but he definitely exacerbated the problem.

the ring of lights that ppl can cross over, idk about that. it feels like it's fake but whatever. bella having a separate phone just for content… i love that for her lol them going into the basement is cut short only for the fact that we KNOW sam went down there first and colby was none the wiser until like two days later. The Method being done for bella and larray was cool i guess. but then sam getting an extremely private message that he couldn't share, i get that. and i hope that whatever message he got was something he needed to hear (but the way he mouthed "oh no" makes me think otherwise). my only issue is why even use any of the footage from that then? i know it's a bit nitpicky, so i'm not gonna press on it too much.

to the fans on tiktok that were saying "omg what if the message was from corey la barrie"….. please seek professional help. this isn't a fanfic. stop thinking like it is. bc i saw MULTIPLE tiktoks saying that.

but continuing on with The Method, i'll be honest with you: i'm not sure what the afterlife is like or what it entails. but it is hard for me to just blindly accept that it's all good and light and love and whatever random other words satori and cody wanted to throw in there that abigail said. i know it's my cynical mind, but hearing shit like that just makes me roll my eyes. like i know that sounds dark and sad, but that whole thing just made me go like "okay… sure."

maybe it's bc it's too generic. like that's what every form of media has said about the other side for forever. if i was able to get my point across and reach a ton of ppl, i would be sending messages like "god is woman and she sucks at beer pong" or "ice cream is free up here but only on tuesdays" or "guess what? i'm hanging out with EVERYONE'S dogs" not just love and light. boooorrrrriiiinnngggg lol

but i will note something that i thought was interesting only bc i've always had a similar thought process: cody says he doesn't know why they're able to do what they do. he believes it might have had something to do with his cancer complications and dying once. and the reason why i can believe that is i've always had this belief - so, as someone who has attempted to end my own life twice, i've come very close to death. and i think ppl that knock on death's door, you can't just unknock. you can't ding dong ditch death. so i kinda feel like those that get very close to the other side cross a line that can't be uncrossed, so to speak. which i think is also why i had the most paranormal experiences when i was going through some dark times (or had just gone thru them).

what i find peculiar is how the narrative of the basement has changed. before it was dark and demented, something evil lurking around each corner, colby having a full blown panic attack down there. all that, right? but now it's "oh it's just a trickster spirit that likes to cause havoc and is for the most part harmless. and also really would rather you be in the woods." and yet even with that knowledge in mind, everyone was still too freaked out. like if they kept getting cryptic and weird messages i would just be like "find a different trick. you don't scare me" or eventually just leave the basement altogether if nothing was going to be happening besides "come to the woods" over and over again.

but bc snc never listen, they went to woods. and again… woods to me aren't scary for paranormal reasons. more so for bears or humans. but they did get some cool evidence at the graveyard.

i'm just gonna skip that whole thing and get to the part that i want, no - NEED, to talk about which is…. colby standing up for himself when sam told him about the basement.

i was genuinely confused as to why snc weren't mentioning sam going into the basement. like i figured, sam went down there, something happened, and then he told colby. or something to that effect. but to find out that a) he had no real plans of posting this into the vid and b) he waited like two days to finally tell colby it happened…. that's really fucked, ngl. the absolute hurt that was on colby's face is so evident, no wonder sam started backpedaling (but just made it all the more worse). like colby has made it abundantly clear time and time again that he doesn't like being left in the dark about where someone is going/doesn't like being left behind and sam did exactly that. not only that, but he then did something that both him and colby swore they would do together - go to the basement. everyone was waiting to see them go together and experience whatever's down there, but sam took that for himself - like colby said. and then sam tried to justify it with "oh nothing really happened, plus we don't have to show fans, plus i really needed to do it bc everything has been so crazy" and it's like………. WHO DO YOU THINK HAS BEEN ON THIS JOURNEY WITH YOU???? it's colby. while colby might have had some form of belief system before all of this, this whole situation has been insane to him as well. so you don't get to use that as an excuse. and then to say that fans don't need to see this footage, that just feels wrong. bc at the end of the day, the person sam hurt was colby. and regardless of whether or not we would have known about it, colby still would have known. and that's the part that sucks. sam was extremely self-centered for making this decision and then thinking colby would just let it slide.

and i know some of you are gonna probably be up my ass about this opinion since god forbid i give criticism towards sam. but i would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed, especially if sam was upset about it. and god knows there wouldn't have been an argument about including those clips in a video, but i digress. i just think it was messed up of sam to do to that to colby. and i hope bts he apologized profusely.

but to be a bit more light hearted about it… colby looks really hot when he's angry or annoyed. so that's nice, i guess lol it's the clenched jaw and the narrowed eyes, in case you didn't know why you found it hot either. also, he was too calm, and that's hot AND scary lol

i think it's funny to think that if they didn't include sam going there by himself and then this confrontation, we would never know why in the next part colby seemed annoyed/angry and ppl probably would have just blamed the spirits or some shit.

which also did happen…

but to bring it back for a second, you know what the scariest part of this video was for me? the tick on colby's leg. GROSS. disgusting. i would have screamed so loud i'd wake the dead lmao

but anyway the estes methods they did in the basement were very revealing and honestly the best part of the episode imo. them realizing, or believing, that dave is actually the trickster spirit and not some soldier following them around was actually really cool to see unravel. and surprisingly this time around sam jumping to conclusion over and over again paid off well. and then when colby was asking the questions, it was interesting to see his reaction to what was being said. him being annoyed at sam before hand really elevated the estes method, funny enough.

maybe it's bc i don't know about trickster spirits and what they are meant to do or whatever, but if i know the spirit i'm talking to is fucking with me, i'm just not gonna talk to it anymore. i'm not gonna give it what it wants, which is to see me scared. and i think snc, without knowing it, were feeding into what dave wanted.

their equipment malfunctioning over and over again was crazy, ngl. but the actual scariest part of the whole vid was who the FUCK was that behind them in the basement coming up the steps??? fuck The Method, now THAT is proof of the other side existing, especially if snc were alone in that house at that point (which assumingly they were).

so this episode was a bit of rollercoaster for me. some parts were just plan bad to me. like i wouldn't even consider rewatching the first half again tbh. it was tedious to do it just to make this review, so that alone deducts this episode a bunch. but the second half, basically everything after The Method where larray and bella's loved ones talked to them, was pretty decent/better. and of course, once snc were alone, the video was at its best. i truly wish snc would just realize that they do so much better and get such better results without other ppl. just the two of them is enough. i truly wanted to like this episode, and i did to some extent, but no offense to larray, his over reactions just soured most of the video for me. he seems like a nice guy, and i didn't mind him the first time around when snc collabed with him, but god… just shut up next time lol

rating: 2.9/5

would i rewatch: only the tail end, tbh…. so no i guess lol

~~~~~~~~

episode four

i'll be honest with yall, i was mixed about how this final episode was gonna play out. part of me was excited to see it, another part of me was like… eh, don't care. but i will say, i was pleasantly surprised with this one. i guess in a weird way it was my favorite of all the episodes, but that's not saying much since none were really my favorite anyway.

niki and george were fantastic. honestly no notes. they didn't talk the entire fucking time, they weren't overly negative, they kept in line with snc's humor and or seriousness. i loved it truly. 10/10.

i completely forgot that kris called them to tell them about a dream she had. her and niki, and celina too… all having dreams about snc. what are they, fans??

i'm joking btw.

i think the dream element can be a bit questionable, but i do also think it's kinda creepy too. even if for argument's sake it's not real and/or is propped up to be something more serious than it is.

the foil house/tent thing they built was…. confusing. but i'm down for them to start using different methods, especially if they end up working or are interesting. they split up and neither really got anything that compelling, but when they played the picture game it was creepy that only colby's pics got fucked with a bit. it's always colby lol

but i gotta ask, didn't they break the first rule of the game which is nothing is supposed to cross over the circle in the middle? bc sam did that by putting the water cup down in it. also, i highly doubt that snc trashed that camera. highkey it's probably in their office rn.

the duel estes method, in theory, is a cool idea. but the execution wasn't really good enough. like sure, they got some answers, i guess. but half of the words were just random. and tying niki and colby together was kinda pointless. snc just love exploring their kinks on camera huh skskks jk

so, i think what was a bit confusing about sam freaking out (before) going into the basement is that did you really think colby wasn't gonna send you down there at some point? he has made a big stink about it since it happened to him. of course sam had to have known this was gonna happen. not to mention, sam's fucking challenge for colby would have literally caused him to get lost in the woods…. so i would say sam got the nicer of the two options.

as for what transpired in the basement, clearly sam was absolutely losing it. whether it was paranormal or not, he was scared out of his fucking mind. and i get it must have been creepy as hell down there. and god knows he lasted longer than i would have. but there is no reason he has to push himself that far to believe there is something more. like is it really worth being permanently scarred just to know if something is down there? not to mention, but whatever is down there, feeds off of havoc and scared energy. and you basically fell into its trap. like, i'm not blaming sam for freaking out. god knows i would be way worse in that situation. but i also wouldn't have been the dumbass who leaves my phone upstairs and has no extra back up light.

also colby is too forgiving bc i would been like "since you love the basement so much, here you go :)" lmaooo

(sidenote, why is colby walking around in only his socks???? ewwwww. do that in your own home, not the conjuring my guy. and another sidenote, does sam's face look swollen in the basement, or is that just the camera being hella zoomed in? idk why he just looks different)

colby giving a whole disclaimer or explanation about why he could leave sam in the basement…. i blame the fandom bc there is no reason for him to being doing all that. sam was literally gonna have him walk alone to the fucking graveyard. sam is fine in the basement. he can leave whenever he wants to. colby ain't a bad guy for giving him a challenge like that.

the walkie dying is so eerily spooky to the og alone conjuring video it's kinda crazy. but, maybe there is just bad reception lol

moving onto the final stretch of the video, the tarot reading. i know snc kinda showed more of the original reading on xplrclub, but if they truly think her first reading was super accurate, i really hope this reading is also just as accurate. snc deserve a lot more positive than negative these next couple months. so i hope that happens for them.

(might have to do a tarot reading on them myself just for funsies)

The Method's last messages… again, idk. imma just say this, to quote beetlejuice the musical "positivity is luxury that few can afford" and i'll just leave me beliefs at that.

i'll be completely honest with yall, idk what the priestess did with snc. the whole thing, the ouija board and exorcism/cleansing was intriguing, don't get me wrong, but idk what the fuck was happening. i kinda just watched it and accepted it at face value bc again, idk anything. it probably would have been for the best if snc explained it a bit better or did something to let us know what was up. i don't really believe everything that the priestess believes, but i do find her interesting enough that i hope she comes back eventually. god knows snc are gonna need another cleansing at some point.

colby going into the woods blindfolded…. is he trying to literally fall off of a bridge? what is with yall using blindfolds and ties? enough of the kinky shit, already.

but as for what happened out there, i think it was an interesting end to the final investigation. i could sort of hear something running up on colby, and i can only imagine how that would have felt in the moment. and who knows what it could have been? my bet is it was an animal, but i also feel like if it was one, it would have kept chasing him. but who knows. i'm just glad he didn't get hurt.

overall, i would say this was my favorite episode. i think it had a lot more high moments than lows, and that alone makes it the best. the collabs were good in this one, they got really cool evidence, and it was just a great way to wrap up this series.

rating: 4/5

would i rewatch: yeah :)

~~~~~~~~

now, onto my thoughts on this whole thing:

so going into this series, i wasn't too excited, as i had mentioned before. i felt as if snc should have taken this year off and came back during hell week if that was something they direly wanted to do. bc a lot of the content that came out this year was just… not good. it wasn't on par with what their calibar is. but i think this series was probably the best thing that came out this year by them. a lot of cool and interesting things happened in this series, and clearly snc's hearts were fully invested in this. there was passion in this series, and that's what a lot of their other videos this year have lacked, imo.

as for The Method and it changing the world….. i love snc, clearly. i deeply care for them. but they truly need to have someone in their camp that's gonna tell them reality. i mean, just as i'm writing this, there are tons of ppl on tiktok and youtube trying to disprove and nitpick apart the series and in particular The Method. but here's how i feel about that: satori and cody could be lying, that's true. they could be faking it somehow. but i don't think that's the takeaway from this series. i've seen how many ppl this brought closure to, how many ppl feel better now knowing there is something else after this life. and that in itself is worth it, even if it's not real. this series wasn't gonna change my mind bc i myself already believed in the paranormal and already believed that there is something more out there. i don't need two random ppl to prove to me i'm right. i already believe that on my own. and in that regard, i know that this series isn't for me. it's for those that needed to hear those words, that needed the confirmation. and for those ppl, i'm happy this gave you that. honest to god. just bc i didn't get that out of this doesn't mean i look down on those that did. if this helped you in any way, that's fantastic and i'm glad. i'm not here to argue whether or not The Method is a lie. idc tbh. snc believe it, and i believe them.

and if it comes out that satori and cody lied, fuck them. but until otherwise proven, i'll believe what they're selling. i'm just… not gonna buy any myself.

but even taking them out of the conjuring equation, snc caught some crazy shit there. of course, a lot of it was amplified by The Method, but i think what they did outside of that was more interesting and compelling than The Method. what i think will be more important is what they now do with the information they know. how are they gonna move forward now knowing what they know? what are they gonna impliment now that they didn't think to use before the conjuring? that's what matters to me.

idk if i got an ask that said this or not (i would have to double check but if i did - hi anon, here's your answer), but i know ppl are asking how snc are gonna top themselves this next year for hell week. personally, i don't think they have to. i think they should go back to what hell week looks like usually: a bunch of different places with different guests, but now more amplified. maybe, crazy concept, do more solo investigations. how about during next year's hell week you just… go alone to all seven places? maybe stop by the conjuring another time? you already proved (for the most part) that there is an afterlife and more beyond this life, why not go back thru your greatest hits with fresh eyes? that's what will make a difference in the content and take it to the next level without you literally contacting a demon or something.

i was pleasantly surprised by this series, and i'm more excited now to see what they do next than i was before, so… mission accomplish lol

[double-j]

*STARDUST REBLOG CHALLENGE NOVEMBER WEEK 5 MASTERLIST*

[FOR ALL FICS, CHECK THE STARDUST REBLOG CHALLENGE TAG]

*reminder to please heed the author’s warnings on individual fics!*

~ splitting the list up into weeks this month because the post editor has been giving me a hard time ~

TGM: JAKE HANGMAN SERESIN FICS

more than this from @hangmanbrainrot

douche bag jar deposit: $50 (from the douche bag jar series) from @jupitercomet

what to expect p. 1, & p. 2 from @topguncortez

my girl p. 3 from @/ereardon

operation apollo p. 14 from @/sunlightmurdock

the third amendment from @gennyanydots

less talk p. 1, & p. 2 from @tongue-like-a-razor

out of the blue, clear sky p. 2 (this was both a fic rec and a coffee rec, and a re-read) from @theharddeck

signed away p. 9 from @seresinhangmanjake

damned (from the look away universe AKA sugar daddy jake) from @fuckyeahhangman

prompts 30+27 & 14 & 8+14 (from the house we share, plz read this series, it is perfect) from @rolycolysficrecs

in your dreams (part 2 to drink up, aka hangman loves a hurricane shot) from @/fandomxpreferences

please come home for christmas, & i'll be home for christmas from @madsnowstorm

grounded p. 5 from @enchanting-eloquence

until i found you, & is that okay with you?, & beginning of it all from @auroradawnwrites

"were you ever going to tell me?" from @/bradshawsbitch

she is both hellfire and holy water p. 6 from @chemistryread

settling (from the best benefits series which will have you ready to *lovingly* smack jake and val for their idiocy) from @writercole

something that will haunt me when you're not around (from the better man universe that will make you feel all the feelings) from @sweetlittlegingy

ego check, & just how far i'd go, & fuck, marry, protect thy love, & vows (from the to have & to hold series) from @ohtobeleah

is this a joke? p. 1 & p. 2 from @edensbuttercups

strip from @welcome-to-my-multiverse

back for more from @/seresinhangmanjake

kiss the sun (fight the fire) from @callsignvalley

a glimpse of us (get the tissues ready) from @call-sign-jinx

TGM: BRADLEY ROOSTER BRADSHAW FICS

come back p. 13 from @ereardon

the deployment diaries p. 9, p. 10, p. 11, & p. 12 from @roosterforme

christmas angel from @archivallyfound09

'cause no one breaks my heart like you (plz get out your tissues now) from @heartsofminds

lips on you from @/roosterforme

last hurrah from @cherrycola27

g.u.y. from @notroosterbradshaw

the lakehouse from @ayorooster

one for the history books p. 15, & p. 16 from @pisupsala

oops preview, p. 1, & p. 2 from @fandomxpreferences

safe and sound prologue, & p. 1 from @/fandomxpreferences

whiskey sour from @bradshawsbitch

afraid of flying p. 1, & p. 2 from @youvebeenlivingfictional

when all is said and done from @/sunlightmurdock

hollywoods bleeding preview, & p. 1 from @disturbedbeautywrites

TGM: ROBERT BOB FLOYD FICS

king of my heart from @croimilis

what are you thinking? (sobbing still tbh) from @/ereardon

all fun & games p. 1, p. 2, p. 3.1, & p. 3.2 from @purelyfiction

make it proper from @rassvetsky

office christmas party from @notroosterbradshaw

TGM: MISC FICS

safe zone p. 4 from @sunlightmurdock (love triangle w/ jake and bradley)

something in-between p. 7 from @/archivallyfound09 (love triangle w/ jake and bradley)

the one where episode one teaser from @/auroradawnwrites (friends au w/ the dagger squad)

NHL FICS

that which we are, we are p. 5 from @spine-buster

BINGO

[theboarsbride]

Name 5 movies/book/songs/etc that inspired each of your stories!

:0

OOO!!! So sorry this took too long to get around, but thank you so, so much for sending this ask in!! 🥺💛

The Monster and the Butterfly🥀🦋

Crimson Peak - and Guillermo del Toro's whole filmography, tbh, but Crimson Peak especially. And also other ghost movies/shows, such as The Orphanage, The Others, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Mama, Paranormal Activity, The Conjuring I & II.

Panna a Netvor/Beauty and the Beast (1979), as well as Jean Cocteau's La Belle et la Bete.

Various dark fantasy movies and books from the 1980s/90s like The Dark Crystal, Legend, The Company of Wolves, etc. and Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber.

Shelley Duvall's Fairytale Theater "Beauty and the Beast" episode (literally why Susan Sarandon - who plays Beauty - is Sophie's fc)... and honestly, on that same note, Peter Jackson's LOTR trilogy because the fucking music is so good, and Brad Dourif as Grima Wormtongue is the whole reason why the modern version of Edgar exists (and is his fc) lmao.

A Taste for Monsters by Matthew Kirby - and to add onto this, KIND OF?? Is that a lot of inspiration for TMATB came from the hate I feel towards some modern BATB retellings (i.e.- Sarah J Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses series especially) that feature conventionally attractive 'Beasts' who are only beasts in the sense that they're awful, toxic, cruel people who, to me, don't deserve redemption or romance - or even friendship - as well as female protagonists who are just so, so unlikeable in their bitterness, idiocy, and Mary Sue-ness??? I wanted to write a romance that featured love interests that were unconventional in appearance, flawed but still likeable, and having a relationship that is healthy/consensual!

Cheating and adding a 6th one, but the works of Abigail J. Harding's Parliament of Rooks portfolio! GOTHIC BIRD MONSTER BELOVED!

Those Red Nights🌕🐺

Using Bob Odenkirk as a fc for a werewolf character - literally that's the whole reason why this story exists lmfao. So you bet I was watching the hell out of Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad for inspo (and simp material)!

Silence of the Lambs, the movie especially! But there is also Thomas Harris' Red Dragon novel (and the movie starring Ed Norton and Anthony Hopkins, and the movie Manhunter) that was a source of inspiration!

David Fincher's Se7en - I wanted to write a neo-Noir story for a hot minute, especially ones with psychological horror elements!

Nightmare by Tuesday Knight - this just helped me develop the idea of TRN being a psychological horror, and writing about the themes surrounding nightmares, the haunting effects of guilt, etc.

Werewolf movies like Bad Moon and Silver Bullet

Temperance & Mr. Wyrm 🐍⚕️- I don't talk about this WIP much but I still think about it regularly!

Wanting to do a retelling of the fairytale "The Lindworm Prince" and also wanting to explore writing a weird body horror romance!

The Shape of Water - again, del Toro out here inspiring goofy fucking monster romances!

David Cronenberg's The Fly - tragic body horror romance goodness, my beloved!

General 1980s media and pop culture - a lot of this was kind of inspired by reading My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix! It's a book set in the 80s and utilizes the 80s nostalgia, but it also doesn't shy away from how ugly the 80s were in terms of social stigmas for people who weren't straight white men. In TAMW especially what I'd be alluding to is the stigma surrounding AIDS, and other blood-borne illnesses.

And, lowkey, wanting to have Gwendoline Christie as a fc for a character?? Like, idk, with who Temperance is as a character within the novella, Christie seems to fit her super well! Also the tall gf x short bf is a ship dynamic I ADORE! (also the character of Jack, the titular 'Mr. Wyrm,' is another character where I use Brad Dourif as a fc for but shhhhh i know I'm cringe, don't remind me)

These are the main WIPs I still work on!! There is also The Faeries and the Lark but that's more on the backburner for now, but that story was inspired by wanting to do a genderbent retelling of Sleeping Beauty but has now turned into a Gothic/dark fantasy Sapphic romance that's a funky blend between Sleeping Beauty and East of the Sun, West of the Moon that's inspired by Scandinavian folklore and seeing images of women in armor lmao.

But if there are any WIPs you'd wanna learn about, give me a shout and I'm more than willing to scream about these goofy, silly little stories!!

[bambiesque]

New thread for Whittaker!Doctor.

Episode: The Woman Who Fell to Earth - Hi, Ryan, Yas, Graham! I love how Northern it is. Sonic Swiss Army Knife - thank you! The tooth monster is so horrible. I like that Ryan is the Doctor's favourite because he agrees with her, just like Five and Nyssa. Good start.

Episode: The Ghost Monument - I like the new credits more than Twelve's. Venusian aikido! Ohm, Ryan used a gun so he's no longer the Doctor's fave. Honestly, the Doctor running to greet the TARDIS was quite romantic. Love the new look.

Episode: Rosa - Great episode. Ryan especially is excellent - love that he keeps using Rosa Parks' and MLK's full names. A proper history episode, haven't had one of those in a long time.

Episode: Arachnids in the UK - Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Silly fun, enjoyable but no thanks to the giant spiders.

Episode: The Tsuranga Conundrum - Nice to see Brett Goldstein. Bit of a mixed bag though. I liked Graham and Ryan's story better than Eve's. The Pting is very cute.

Episode: Demons of the Punjab - Another lovely historical episode. I do like that it's teaching us things. Graham is very wise. Once again, the Doctor has learnt nothing about taking companions to see their relatives.

Episode: Kerblam! - That robot delivery thing is horrible. Poor Kira, I liked her. It was a fine episode but nothing very exciting.

Episode: The Witchfinders - I love Alan Cumming. I'm surprised The Doctor hasn't been burnt at the stake for witchcraft before now tbh. The historical stuff has been really great this season.

Episode: It Takes You Away - Yas wanting to reverse the polarity was a highlight. Sad but lovely. And Ryan calling Graham grandad was very touching.

Episode: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos - Not a great series end but also not terrible. I enjoyed it on the whole. I love the whole TARDIS team.

Episode: Resolution - Your standard Dalek story but it was very enjoyable. Like the extended fam. I love how Yorkshire Whittaker!Doctor is.

Episode: Spyfall 1/2 - Great introduction for Dhawan!Master. (I still miss Missy though). Everyone looks fantastic in their tuxes. Fab Bond episode to start and then a nice historical ep with Ada Lovelace and Noor Inayar Khan. Love the Doctor's eyerolling over the Master's theatrics and then they go to the Eiffel Tower for a date. Bless. Aaand then Gallifrey is destroyed again. *sigh*

Episode: Orphan 55 - Nice exciting episode. Loved all the characters and the very tight plot. One of the best.

Episode: Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror - I do enjoy the historical episodes and the little educational asides. Good but not one of my favourites.

Episode: Fugitive of the Judoon - Jack! I like Ruth. A very exciting episode, a good mystery and lots of interesting things going on. Whittaker!Doctor is brilliant.

Episode: Praxeus - I liked everyone getting to go off and do their own thing. Too many creepy birds though. Some nice educational moments.

Episode: Can You Hear Me? - Love Whittaker!Doctor talking to herself and forgetting she's alone. Love how awkward she is when Graham is trying to talk to her. Yaz's story made me cry.

Episode: The Haunting of Villa Diodati - Gorgeous, creepy, funny. A perfect episode.

Episode: Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children - I don't hate the Doctor's history reveal. I think destroying Gallifrey again was stupid and I don't understand why we're still associating The Master and the Cybermen this closely.

Episode: Revolution of the Daleks - Harriet Walter! Jack! I like that Ryan and Graham decide to leave and aren't forced out traumatically like all the other New!Who companions. It's just a continuation of Resolution and the Dalek story isn't as good as that one.

Episode: The Halloween Apocalypse - I like the way everything is set up for the whole season. It makes an interesting change. Not sure how I feel about Dan yet.

Episode: War of the Sontarans - Yay Mary Seacole! I do like Sontarans but I don't like the makeup this time. Swarm and Azure's makeup however is amazing.

Episode: Once, Upon Time - I love Bel. I think her and Vinder's story is the most interesting this season. I'm still not really invested in Dan.

Episode: Village of the Angels - A good episode but I didn't really like the ending. I do love a good weeping angel episode though.

Episode: Survivors of the Flux - Yaz looks fantastic in all her 1904 outfits. I don't really care about the Flux or Division - I don't think more mysterious secret organisations were needed. Kate!!!!

Episode: The Vanquishers - Oh there's two Whittaker!Doctors in the same place at the same time. Yaz is having so many impure thoughts. Poor Jericho.

Episode: Eve of the Daleks - Time Loop! My favourite trope. I loved it. And yay to Dan for giving a few home truths to the Doctor and listening to Yaz.

Episode: Legend of the Sea Devils - Pirates, beautiful ships, swordfights, Whittaker!Doctor being brave and honest with Yaz. Lovely ending.

Episode: The Power of the Doctor - This episode is going to make me cry isn't it? Oh yes, the regenerating Cybermen. Ugh. ACE!!! TEGAN MY LOVE!!! Bye, Dan. I'm so pleased they all made their own choice to leave. "Your Master awaits." But what do they mean by that? Really? KATE!!! She did not sign up for this drama. The Master is looking good like a professor. "How did you escape from Gallifrey?" How does he escape from anything, Doctor? FFS. Love a bunker. Lava pools seem to be Whittaker!Doctor's quarry. Poor UNIT. Dear lord, just ask her on a date, you idiot. It's not really regeneration, so much as a body swap. Oh Tegan <3 Lol at the Master wearing a bit of every Doctor. All the Doctors. I'm crying. Yaz is awesome. I love Tegan so much. I love Ace. I love the Master's emo hood. Brave heart, Tegan. *crying forever* "All children leave home!" *yeah I'm never going to stop crying* Graham! Oh Kate <3 The only thing I like about the regenerating Cybermen is the beautiful Galifreyan swirlies. Oh poor Master. He needs some hugs and some therapy. Him and his bisexual TARDIS. I do love that there's five women here and one man. And the Cloister bell. Oh Yaz <3 Jo!!!!!!! My darling, Jo. Ian! Mel! Tag, you're it! Incredible. Hello (again) David.

Whittaker!Doctor Era Roundup

I love Jodie. I love the fam. I love how Yorkshire it is. I don't really have a strong opinion about the Timeless Child revelation, but I do think getting rid of Gallifrey again was a mistake. I hope we can dispense with the Master & Cybermen connection now too. Overall, I love how Whittaker!Doctor was brave, excitable, full of nervous energy and a little bit steampunk!

Favourite Companion: Yaz

Least Favourite Companion: Dan

Favourite Episode: The Haunting of Villa Diodati / The Power of the Doctor

Least Favourite Episode: Revolution of the Daleks

Final Doctor Rankings:

Smith

Davison

Pertwee

Tennant

Capaldi

Whittaker

TBaker

CBaker

McCoy

Troughton

McGann

Eccleston

Hartnell

Top 10 Companions: (Yaz goes in at 13, Kate at 16, Ryan at 20, Graham at 21, Dan at 41)

Jo Grant

Amy Pond

Tegan Jovanka

Rory Williams

Barbara Wright

Vislor Turlough

Clara Oswald

Sarah Jane Smith

Martha Jones

Donna Noble

Top 5 Masters:

Gomez

Delgado

Simm

Dhawan

Ainley

[sattlersquarry]

st + bfu au idea that my silly old brain has been kicking around

okay SO it's September which means GHOST FILES IS COMING TO WATCHER THIS MONTH!!! Because of that I've been thinking a lot about Buzzfeed Unsolved, and I've been thinking a lot about Stranger Things (but tbh, when am I not???).

All the good good content rattling around in my brain inspired me, and I am considering writing a Modern AU Steve Harrington x Reader series where Steve and Robin are the "Shane" and "Ryan" of their own BFU-type show. Jonathan would be the camera and lights guy, Argyle would be the sound guy, and the Reader would be a producer on the show who always goes with them to the haunted places. The series would be about the five of them visiting the Creel House in Hawkins for a new episode, hoping to find ghosts and instead finding the treacherous Vecna!

I have a little excerpt below the cut. Let me know if this is something you'd want to read!

And I also wanted to shout out two of my favorite BFU-type Stranger Things AUs—check these out!

-Mystery Mania Social Media AU by @yoursecondfirstlove

-Nancy & Robin Buzzfeed Unsolved AU by @thehauntingof-nancywheeler

👻👻👻

Steve leaned against the ice machine, arms crossed. Y/N tried not to get distracted by how good he looked in the low light of the vending machine. 

“This town is a shithole,” he complained as Y/N surveyed the snack options. 

“Every town we visit is a shithole,” Y/N pointed out. “The interesting cities bulldoze over haunted locations to build luxury hotels and restaurants.” 

“There’s nothing to do here,” Steve said. 

“Welcome to small-town life,” Y/N said, choosing Peanut M&Ms as her treat of choice. The coil of the vending machine swirled hypnotically and pushed the yellow packet over the edge. “In places like this, you have to learn to make your own fun.”

Steve raised an eyebrow, eyes glinting mischievously. 

“Make our own fun?” he said, a flirtatious lilt to his voice. “What did you have in mind, exactly?”

Y/N ignored the thud, thud, thud of her heart pounding away in her chest. She reminded herself that Steve Harrington was a class-A manwhore who treated flirting like an Olympic sport. It didn’t mean anything more. He didn’t see her, not like that. Not like more than a colleague. More than the show’s producer. Work friends, at best. 

“There’s an arcade in town,” Y/N said. “And a cute old movie theater. Like, so-old-it-only-has-one-screen old.”

“A movie could be fun,” Steve said. He scratched his cheek, eyes flicked upward as he visualized their itinerary in his mind. “We should have time after our initial walk-through to catch one before we start filming. What do you say?” 

“Sure,” Y/N said. “I’ll check with Jon and the others, see if they’d be interested.” 

Steve deflated slightly. He cleared his throat. 

“Right, Jonathan,” he said. “And the others. They should come too.” 

Y/N didn’t notice the shift in his demeanor. She held out the M&M bag and shook it once. 

“Want some?”

“I’m good,” Steve said. “See you tomorrow, Y/N.” 

He turned on his heel and shuffled down the hall, ducking into his room. Y/N headed to the room she shared with Robin, wondering what horrors waited for them tomorrow in the elusive Creel House.

[gellavonhamster]

monthly media recap: may 2023

the lusty month of May! this one is gonna be long

read:

The Terror by Arthur Machen - a properly unsettling short novel about strange murders happening in England and Wales during World War II. I gotta say, I think the narrator is wrong :D as in, based on the story, I have a slightly different opinion on the cause of what happened

The Great Return by Arthur Machen - a novella about the reappearance of the Holy Grail in a small Welsh village; short, but beautiful

The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories by Algernon Blackwood - not bad apart from, as usual, certain period-typical yikes, but after Machen and M.R. James it just doesn't seem as good, and the endings to many stories felt too abrupt to me. However, I am a big fan of the character whose rooms were haunted by his friend's ghost, so he went to his other friend's place to study because "there's no hallucination about that exam; I must pass that whatever happens."

Issues No. 1-3 of the Hellebore zine - yep, still reading this, still in an absolutely random order. Witch trials, poison plants, the cult of Pan and other good shit; I've bookmarked the names of some books I might give a try later. I feel like the articles in earlier issues were more, uh, informal and essay-like and became more scientific as the zine continued to be released, which I think is a good change tbh

Temeraire series, Books 4-7 (Empire of Ivory, Victory of Eagles, Tongues of Serpents, and Crucible of Gold) by Naomi Novik - hell yeah! I started this series in 2019 (I believe?), read the first three books, loved them, but then kind of forgot to continue. Catching up on it now and greatly enjoying the alternate history (in very broad strokes: Napoleonic wars with sentient DRAGONS in the air force), constant adventures, anti-colonialist themes, and the extremely likeable cast.

+ progress on Lancelot-Grail: done with The Quest for the Holy Grail, The Death of Arthur, and the first part of Post-Vulgate (The Merlin Continuation). Currently reading the Post-Vulgate version of the Grail quest and Book 8 of of Temeraire - Blood of Tyrants

watched:

Daisy Jones & The Six (2023) - there were changes in comparison to the book that I liked (loved Simone's storyline in the show, for example) and that I disliked. I think the novel and the adaptation work together best. The soundtrack is amazing, and the original songs are very good even out of context

Valkoinen peura / The White Reindeer (1952) - older horror films often are more haunting than the newer ones despite limited special effects and mostly relying on things like lighting and music - or maybe because of that - and this Finnish film is a good example of that. God forbid women do anything (turn into a murderous reindeer)

November (2017) - fascinating folk horror set in 19th century Estonia - mundane magic, deals with the devil, and the unrequited love no spells can fix. Beautiful and sad and very well-made

Yellowjackets (season 2, 2021-?) - AAAAAAA!!! I know many people found this season much worse than s1, but I honestly enjoyed it, even if I didn't agree with all decisions (they better do something unexpected about Van's cancer, or I'll be mad). The finale is devastating, but I kinda expected that to happen :( it was one of the most likely character deaths. Alas, the only one of these women I'd be ready to let go is the one who's certainly not dying unless they all die in the end (which is not that unlikely, I guess). Anyway, this is one of my favourite shows at the moment, and I'm really excited for season 3 (and the mysterious bonus episode?..)

[minimoefoe]

doctor who rewatch thoughts (ninth doctor)

for each episode there's two things I like (✅️) and one thing I dislike (❌️) (sometimes more/less) and general thoughts overall along with a rating out of five stars

there's a quick list of ep ratings and an average series rating at the bottom of the post

🌹1.01, rose

✅ basically every ninerose interaction in this ep is gold. I love when rose enters the tardis for the first time and asks if he’s alien and he and asks if that’s all right. it’s just v cute idk I love them ❌ clive’s speech to rose about who the doctor is etc is cringe and dramatic and kinda feels like it doesn’t match the vibe in some way, like it makes the doctor out to be something they’re not? idk how to explain it, it’s just strange

overall this ep kinda slaps tbh. some stuff is a lil dramatic (the music, clive's speech) and plastic mickey is haunting, but most of that stuff just adds to the vibe. and nine and rose are already an iconic duo one episode in. a solid, fun start, I have to stan

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🌎 1.02, the end of the world

✅️ the scene where nine and rose argue is probs one of my fave nine and rose scenes, and defo my fave scene in this ep. the way she calls him out and tries to get info out of him is just 🤌 and the way they make up is also well done ✅️ rose talking to the janitor and the moment where the camera slowly zooms in as she really realises she doesn't know the doctor at all is 10/10 I love it a lot ❌️ the resolution to the ep, where nine has to survive some kind of lethal more fire-y total wipeout challenge is a lil meh like why would they have that there idk

overall an absolute BANGER, the only thing that let's it down is the resolution being a lil off, otherwise I don't think I have any complaints

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💀 1.03, the unquiet dead

✅️ I find rose and nine having different opinions on if it's right to let the gelth take over the bodies very interesting, that's the kind of drama I love idk ✅️ rose's chat with gwenyth where they talk about boys and gwenyth is like uhhh, is so good. and I like the bad wolf mention that's in there as well. I also just love that it's rose once again getting to know someone in the place she's visiting, it's a nice theme ❌️ I don't think there's anything in this ep I particularly dislike tbh, it's all fine. I can understand why ppl sometimes say they see an anti refugee message, but I don't particularly think it's that deep

ngl when this ep started I was like oh I kinda cba with this, but it won me over somewhere in there. there's more moments to love than I was expecting. this is potentially gatiss' best ep so it's mostly downhill from here tho rip

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🐷 1.04, aliens of london

✅️ the first scene where rose gets back and jackie starts having a go at nine is 10/10, one of/maybe the only time the doctor deserved the slap he got ❌️ I'm not against nine and mickey having a kinda rivalry thing going on but nine always calling him 'ricky' was so annoying and just felt weird idk

overall a good ep, kinda underrated maybe? I think the slitheen and their farting kinda brings the tone down a bit, but there's some good stuff in there

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💨 1.05, world war three

✅️ 'I could save the world but lose you' ❌️ the farting thing is obvs important bc it's part of how they figure out a way to save jackie and mickey but the way its brought up and how much it goes on is a bit cringe and gross innit

mostly the same thoughts as pt1, farting brings the tone down but there's some cool stuff in there. i especially like the last five minutes tbh

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

☀️ 1.06, Dalek

✅️ the first scene where nine comes face to face with the dalek is very cool and I like it a lot ✅�� nine wanting to kill the dalek vs rose tryna tell him not too, love it a lot. kinda similar to in 1.03 where they disagree on what the right thing to do is which is the kind of thing I find interesting idk ❌️ too many americans I fear

overall a banger. I feel like this might be my fave ep with daleks in terms of the actual dalek story/content yknow? also rose is a fashion icon and also also christopher eccleston actor of all time

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🥶 1.07 the long game

✅️ the scene where rose and nine are handcuffed and chatting to/being interrogated by simon pegg is cool ✅️ 'I ONLY TAKE THE BEST. I'VE GOT ROSE.' !!! ❌️ the idea of a companion that fucks things up is cool but idk I don't really care about adam so most of his scenes were a snoozefest

overall this is defo an ep that exists

⭐️⭐️💫

👨🏼‍🍼 1.08 father's day

✅️ nine and rose arguing after rose saves her dad is a 10/10 scene, I stg no doctor companion pairing argues as good as they do. also love the scene where they make up too ✅️ I like how they handle pete realising what's going on and fixing it. I feel like they could defo have fumbled it and gone down an annoying road, but they didn't god bless ❌️ clocking what jackie and pete's age gap is supposed to be has made some moments feel weird in an oh he's a bit old sense but also in a production sense like they didn't think about how jackie is young (i guess bc the actress playing her isn't the right age) and that makes some of things said kinda not work imo, like camille isn't playing a 20yo jackie she's playing the same 2005 jackie

overall a banger but the age gap thing has ruined it a bit for me, not bc I think it's wildly problematic, tho it is a bit dodgy, mainly bc I think the ep doesn't account for the in universe ages of characters which makes some stuff weird and I couldn't stop noticing it

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

🇬🇧 1.09 the empty child

✅️ just love the vibes. it doesn't creep me out quite like it used to, probs bc I've seen it so much and I'm not 10, but the vibes are soooo good ✅️ the doctor guy transforming into one of them is so gross ❌️ rose and jack's flirting was a bit cringe idk

it's a classic for a reason

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

👦🏻 1.10 the doctor dances

✅️ nine's attitude/jealousy towards jack is 10/10. the dynamic between all three of them is 10/10. ✅️ 'just this once, everybody lives' just gets me idfk

everyone cheered

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🥚 1.11 boom town

✅️ nine and margaret in the restaurant is all great, from the beginning where she's tryna kill him to near the end when it gets Deep. she really got his ass ✅️ nine, rose and jack (and mickey a little too) are an ICONIC group. I find some of their momemt s a lil cringe but for the most part I'm obsessed with them and wish we got more of them together ❌️ fatphobia bad

overall kinda a banger. defo makes the slitheen more interesting than the earlier two parter did

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🐺 1.12 bad wolf

✅️ nine and lynda are a very cute duo, her happy vibes and his grumpy(?) vibes are a great combo ✅️ all the games are cool ❌️ I love jack a lot usually but he was mildly annoying in this ep idk

overall uh, i am a fan. fun times and a good set up for the finale

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

👋 1.13 the parting of the ways

✅️ rose's rant/speech about making a stand etc is chef's kiss ✅️ 'you were fantastic and you know what so was I' makes me want to SCREAM ❌️ I'm cool with the trope-y kiss of life thing at the end but 'I think you need a doctor' is too much for me sorry

it's a banger your honour

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

series one overview :

rose - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ the end of the world - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ the unquiet dead - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ aliens of london - ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 world war three - ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 dalek - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ the long game - ⭐️⭐️💫 father's day - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 the empty child - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ the doctor dances - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ boom town - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ bad wolf - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ the parting of the ways - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

series one average rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 4.07142857143*

*average also includes the christmas invasion (⭐️⭐️⭐️💫)

[doppelnatur]

youve convinced me. drop Star Trek recs what do i watch (ive been told to avoid the movies? are they bad lol)

Ok I've not seen all of trek, I've mainly seen ds9, tos and tng so I'm only gonna talk about those.

I think ds9 (deep space 9) is like. The most Genuinely Good show out of all the ones I've seen. I'd just start from the beginning and watch it all but if you aren't ready to commit to 7 seasons of queer antics with a seasoning of war time baseball (unrelatable but ok?) The best episode of ds9 and probably the best episode in all of trek is the one directed by Avery Brooks (the actor of Sisko) "far beyond the stars" (my icon is Fanart of that episode specifically) you can totally watch it as a stand alone💕 heavy Triggerwarning for racism, police murder and brutality, and institutionalization. To be clear the episode isn't racist, it depicts racism, specifically anti black racism. Maybe more light-hearted fun is "bar association" where quarks employees unionize. I think a few people have said ds9 only starts to be good in like season 3? I don't think that's true it's very good from the start and i do recommend watching it from the start.

The movies are a good time if you wanna put something on with friends and get drunk tbh! Wrath of Khan is also the only Moby Dick adaptation I've ever seen and it's such a classic. Like it sucks but it's also very good. And the whale movie (journey home) is genuinely a banger of a movie!

In general TOS (the original series) I wouldn't really recommend unless you're already kind of sold on star trek. It's beautiful, it's strange, it's homosexual, it's DEEPLY sexist. But there are some very fun episodes and it's the ideal show to put on while painting your nails. It kind of starts being a strong show in the second season, Amok Time ofc being a classic (but an odd episode to start with) The Changeling I think is a good episode that shows what tos is like from it's best side and fairly representative, and mirror mirror is the way better than average episode where the mirror verse is introduced which is very cool. I also like doomsday machine and the devil in the dark! Devil in the dark is one of the last episodes of the first season so maybe a good place to start from? Tho you wouldn't wanna miss The Naked Time!!! Tos is a banger of a show it's just very 60s.

TNG (the next generation) is kind of hit or miss and starts off slow but it has like the best horror episodes out of all of star trek I'd say. Absolutely will HAUNT you, scarier than most actual horror shows. Schisms is... An episode of a Nice Family Show FOR SURE :))))) Frame of mind also fucked me up.. idk man just. TNG. Geordi and Data are so lovely and then Fucked Up Shit happens.. For sure.

Both TNG and TOS are very "it's trekking time", ds9 being a space station treks very little. It's less of a star trek than a star kinky war time sex. Hope this helpss have funnn!!!

[reasoncourt]

SURSH, horror media recs please???? can be as long or as short as you want? and can be literally any kind of media <3

I tried my best <3333

Movies:

Just straight up good movies:

Get Out

Us

Psycho

The Birds

Don’t Look Now (1973)

The Conjuring

Fun for Movie Night:

Scream (all of them)

Friday the 13th

The Cabin in the Woods

Insidious

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Saw

Movies I rented with my brother at blockbusters when I was 8 (I don’t think I actually recommend these, though):

One missed call 

Vacancy

The Grudge 

Hostel (the fact that I was allowed to rent this out as a kid concerns me. But my brother and I FREAKED over some foreshadowing we noticed at the start of the movie and that excitement makes me fond so the trauma gets a pass. The ending kind of sucked)

So bad it was almost funny (but it might’ve just been bad):

The Boy

Psycho II

The Ring (Scary Movie 3 was better (so were the movies my brother made to scare me into thinking i had 7 days to live))

On my list to watch:

Ganja and Hess

Spider Baby

Nosferatu

Carnival of Souls

Duel (1971)

Les Diaboliques

TV Series:

Scream (2015) - I LOVE scream so this was fun. Was it good? I have no idea.

Into the night - This is a thriller, not a horror. But it was really good and I've never had the chance to recommend it (I haven’t watched the second season, though, cause i’ve only just realised it’s out)

Haunting of Bly Manor (if that counts as horror, idk)

Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids (idc if it’s a cartoon for kids, idc if it was on after school, idc that it’s not ‘horror’, it is DEEPLY unsettling and it gave me nightmares about the toothfairy and being stuck in mirrors)

Books:

Goosebumps: One Day at Horror Land (idk if I should recommend this one because I haven’t read it in 10+ years so I don’t remember anything except that I was obsessed with it. My grandad bought me 100 goosebump books at junk yard sales and the horror land ones are the ones i remember reading. BUT, they are books for kids so grain of salt)

Mysteries that aren’t really horror but are still fun:

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

One by One by Ruth Ware

Podcasts:

Narrative:

The Magnus Archives (i’ve not gotten very far but i’m really enjoying it)

Meta:

You’re Wrong About - The Amityville Horror episodes + the Ed and Lorraine Warren episodes are GREAT (the real life stories behind those movies are fascinating and I love the hosts) - they also talk a lot about satanic panics in the culture (which sometimes made certain horror movies like the exorcist super popular). It’s a really interesting podcast

Websites:

I love reading about games like the midnight man on creepy pasta tbh but I need to go searching for more stuff

Games

Until Dawn

Outlast

I don’t have many recs for games because I am too soft to participate in horror. My brother mostly takes over after the first half hour and finishes the game while I watch)

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

Hello! May I enquire after an X files episode? Like. Least scary/most fun. The tribbles episode of you will. If it exists? (There’s always one). I’m hoping to fall in love with characters in a lower stress mode for myself so then I will follow them into the pit of despair or sit in the creepy haunted mansion with them. Alternatively what is your absolute favorite?

oh!!! Magpie dearest!!! ok I'm going to give several answers, actually. TXF has a solid break-up of Mytharc episodes (overarching series plotline), Monster Of The Week Episodes (can range from light and fluffy to deep dives into the darkest recesses of the characters), and deliberately comedic episodes, so there's quite a lot of variety to choose from

I'd say that if you want a "Tribbles episode," I think Humbug (s2e20, this is Gurt's favorite comedy episode) or War of the Coprophages (s3e12, MY favorite, and one of my top 10 episodes overall) would be a good one. neither requires a lot of context for plot or characters, as they're intentionally written as a sort of break from the overall plot and emotional impact of the season. they're both very chill episodes, low-stress high-fun — however if you have a squick for bugs, War of the Coprophages may not be the best one for you lol. the premise is that people in a small town believe that cockroaches are attacking and killing them, and there's a couple scenes where that's exactly what it looks like, so fair warning. (WotC also has one of the best Mulder-Scully dynamics there is, because they just seem incredibly domestic and married the entire time)

however, if I had to pitch the series to you in one episode — apart from the Pilot, of course — it would be s5e18, The Pine Bluff Variant. it is a pretty tense episode, with undercover operations and some pretty dark imagery (the props department on TXF always loves to go full ham on icky things, but since it was the 90s it does seem a tad campy tbh), but it really encapsulates what the show is and who the characters are so perfectly in one episode. it's also one of the few episodes that doesn't deal with any kind of extraterrestrial or paranormal subjects, just simple human nature — to boil it down to its basis, it is an episode wholly about Good vs. Evil and what each of those things brings about. I've written a lot about it because it's both my favorite episode and the one that I think sums up the entirety of the show best.

and if you decide you want to actually start watching it, but not like... fully commit, the first four episodes of season 1 (Pilot, Deep Throat, Squeeze, and Conduit) are the true essentials and really do a great job of setting up a foundation of who Scully and Mulder are, individually, and what they're going to be as a duo. the first season is a lot more in the horror aspect of sci-fi horror, but it's also in a lot of ways the least intense season. I tend to think of it as "comfort horror," tbh, because while the vibes are darker than much that follows, it's also the season with (naturally) the last baggage on the characters and storylines, so it feels lighter at the same time.

I can give you a more comprehensive bare minimum viewing list if you want, but for now I would just say that Humbug or War of the Coprophages are good tribble episodes (keeping in mind the bug thing, but WotC is actually the episode I prefer 😅 Humbug kinda bores me bc the character dynamics are a bit flat imo) and Pine Bluff Variant is my favorite and my "sell someone on this show in one(1) episode" episode, so I hope that helps!! lemme know what you think!!!

[chqnified]

Hi Eleutheria, been a bit but I wanted to send an ask anyways. I hope you all are doing well!!

Recently it finally happened and my bff got into skz. Lee Know was the one who really bested her most and chose himself as her bias.

Got any quintessentially Lee Know moments i should share to her in your opinion? Any Minsung ones as well? Anyway, I wish y'all a good day/night/assorted-vague-time-of-day!!!

Hi!!!!!

I'm doing ok at the moment! I hope you are too!!!

YOU DID TOO?!! I managed to successfully get one of my irl friends into skz and her bias is currently Seungmin. Which I was mildly surprised, I had her down as a Felix or Jeongin bias tbh.

But anyways. Your friend has taste. And something tells me she's going to have Han as a bias wrecker if she doesn't already. Those two come as a pair, if you bias one, the other is 90% of the time your bias wrecker. Proven by science 😌

I feel honoured that you asked me-

Lee Know being unhinged:

For official videos, the skz winter game series had a lot of Lee Know being Lee Know. This is probably one of my favourite skz codes too tbh (along with the haunted school one)

The first video of the series:

You might want to watch this series from the beginning, but i feel like this episode and the last were the most entertaining. Just basically Lee Know being a smartass and finding loopholes to win throughout the whole series.

For Minsung moments, I'd definitely go for watching the therapy cooking series with Minho, Han and Jeongin.

The first video in the series:

And the go to more obvious one, the 2 Kids room:

[girltomboy]

So I finished my OITNB rewatch (tbh the final season/episodes felt rushed and forced, but overall I was right to remember it as a good show and I'm really glad I rewatched it because I understood certain parts much better now - my best friend is rewatching it with her bf too!) and then I tried to watch Haunting of the Hill House. SO TERRIBLE! Why did so many people praise this slop when it came out? I remember everybody talking about it. My coworker recommended it to me and I was already aware that our tastes aren't very similar, but now I'm firmly convinced of it. I couldn't finish ONE episode; the acting was incredibly bad and cringeworthy, I guess the characters were overall unlikable to me, and the writing was abysmal. And it's not even a horror series. So I dropped it, and I started watching Six Feet Under - I've had my eye on this show for maybe a decade, and now its time has finally come. Well, I've been pleasantly surprised to recognize so many actors in it, like Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, and the guy from Dexter which I haven't watched. But I just started episode 4 and here's Aleida from OITNB! What a babe!!! I knew her voice sounded familiar (off-screen).

Update from 3 minutes later:

Hank too???

[slashersteve]

S2 is the best season period. Like it had everything, The Spy was like thee episode for me where I completely fell in love with the show (started right before s3 came out). We got, small town vibes, Halloween, the party's cute Halloween costumes, introduction of Max, Steve's character development (plus Dustin and Steve friendship) and more. Like everyone shits on it because of the Lost Sister episode, and yeah it was awkwardly placed but still. I loves the s1/s2 vibes of the show, since s3 we get bigger is better energy which for certain plotpoints not it tbh. It takes a lot of character moments away in favor of more action shots. Like s1/s2 felt like a real haunted small town in America, idk why people shit on that especially on s2 when for me that season sealed the deal for me because I had a hard time with s1.

I totally agree with all this and the SPY is one of the *best* stranger things episode I remember when the season dropped and I watched it for the first time like OOF ITS SO FUCKING GOOD 😩

I always thought s2 was the most important season as well, and I think I’m right (I know I am) and GOD the people hating it because of one episode ??? Like not to be mean but get a grip you know 💀 it’s not even a bad episode, placement is a little off but the episode itself is important especially for El. i love stranger things a lot and I like things more than I dislike things about it, like I enjoy season 3, I think it’s a fun season but s2 FUCKS and I feel like a lot of people who barely watched it just don’t get it not sound like that guy but it’s true 🤨 I think it’s their strongest season and most cohesive too (and the duffers saying they’re taking unused ideas from s2 for s5 is ~interesting~) like okay my friend had the audacity to call it predictable and boring like back in JUNE and it still irks me to this day that she said that but surprise she barely watched the series this year and thinks s3 is top tier and my sister is the same way, then I see a lot of videos ranking it and putting s2 last and it’s like???? To each their own but…come on 😟 Idk again this isn’t me like hating on new fans i just find it so crazy that most of them think season 2 is the worst like ??? i guess it really is just for us on here cause every st mutual I’ve had since 2017 still think it’s the best too

And to add to your list of s2 being so good and the best it’s also like will byers season, he owned that one and did so GOOD and then the most important is the introduction of the MIND FLAYER like come fucking on people!!! It’s just so good and I still think the finale of that season is the best one 😩

[random-red-ramblings]

I savoured ofmd and went as slow as I could, rewatching the previous episode the next day before the new one, but I'm finally done. It was everything everyone said and more <3

Of course I have Thoughts, probably no one but my bestie cares to hear, but they won't have seen ep10 until tonight so...

I've seen a bit of annoyance and blame at Stede for how Ed's feeling, but I haven't yet seen reference to the fact Episode 2 tells us this is a journey Stede HAS to go on to move forward! I'm actually so, SO proud of Stede in episode 10

More under the cut for episode details and further Thought

First let's deal with Stede not making the meeting. He is woken before time (or Chauncey's presence has scared the guard off), has a completely traumatic experience with Chauncey, confirming all of his fears, doubts and self-hate, making his imposter syndrome finally bleed into his Gentleman Pirate persona.

The barbs Chauncey throws at him are:

Nigel - we have seen at the start of this episode how much his death still affects Stede, when he's forced to sign the confession. He is still traumatised by this

Abandoning His Family - in episode 1 we just see how alienated he was in his home, but in moments Stede feels guilt about leaving, he remembers the good times too: playing with his children. Even though he knows he wasn't much good for his family, the responsibility that was there still weighs on him

'Ruining' Blackbeard - when Stede sees Ed 'Nobeard' folding socks and being for all intents and purposes, content, he is shaken then. He KNOWS Ed is changed, because of him, in a way no one else would approve of. He has to leave the room!

This of course concludes with Chauncey dying in a way that's insanely triggering to Stede, mirroring the death of his brother. He's totally beside himself! He's not going to be thinking clearly (or at all), so he runs back to the place he's meant to belong, to fix one of those things he's fucked up.

(He abandoned his family so to reverse it he just needs to show up... oh Stede...)

This will also 'free' Ed of his 'damaging' influence, which Izzy, Jack and the English have also mentioned over the series. Stede has such little faith in himself and his own decisions, of course he's finally going to believe this now he's in such a vulnerable state (and he's beginning to realise how much he cares for Ed).

The tribe elder in Episode 2 told him Nigel haunting him was his own feelings of inadequacy and guilt which he would need to overcome to be free. The thing he thinks of in this scene is his family. I'm not saying Stede remembers the tribe elder now (I really think he doesn't), but I think it's very intentional signposting in the show that Stede NEEDS to go home to ultimately move forward.

Then we have Episode 10, which tbh, was much more positive than I had expected from the posts I'd seen (which were mainly Ed focused).

Stede never makes his own decisions (besides running away in the first place), you see him constantly deferring to Ed's instruction. The scene in which they've swapped roles and he flounders and has to yell he doesn't know what to do, to choosing to fire at the English before gratefully and immediately accepting Ed's alternative of raising the flag. In Episode 10, Stede decides to fix things (for everyone), makes his own choices and decisions, and they WORK.

He realises Mary is in love, that Doug is a good man and can provide what's really needed for the family, that he himself is in love. He declares this mission is 'for their new loves' (;o;) and sets about the most INCREDIBLE fuckery, which succeeds at every turn. This was HIS plan and HIS choice (with the help of others of course, Stede still works best in a team <3).

And he sets off in his little boat with a determination and confidence he's never had. Without any of his usual comforts or crutches. He finds his crew!? I wasn't expecting this at all, and I think on Stede's side of the story Episode 10 is incredibly hopeful! He's doing such a good job, and I'm proud of him <3

[veliseraptor]

CQL Characters Rated by Their Stress Levels

On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being “Lan Wangji smiling at Wei Wuxian” and 10 being “Lan Xichen at Guanyin Temple.”

Lan Wangji: Varies wildly over the course of the series; see @howpeacefulislwj for detailed rundown. The roundup post averages his peacefulness at 4.2/10. Generally speaking, stress levels middling, between 3/10 and 5/10 with some extreme highs, pretty much all Wei Wuxian related.

Wei Wuxian: One of those people where you’re like “god I hate him, everything’s so easy for him and he can do everything better than me, it’s the worst, how the fuck does he do it” and then years later you find out that he had an epic burnout and dropped off the face of the earth for sixteen years because actually it wasn’t that easy he just made it look that way. 

I mean, he starts the series at about a 5/10 general state (he’s managing a lot but handling it okay) and basically escalates to a relatively consistent 9 or 10/10 for most of the stretch from the Burial Mounds through to his dying. Someone should make a @howpeacefuliswwx chart, I’d be curious to see his average.

Jiang Cheng: Has been existing in a constant low-level state of stress since late childhood and only grows over time. The calmest I think we ever see him is when he’s holding a bunny and other than that it’s mostly downhill. I worry about him getting ulcers sometimes. 8/10.

Jiang Yanli: Jiang Yanli is so used to being stressed that she barely even registers it any more. What do you mean, most people don’t raise two other children when they are also a child? What do you mean, most people take breaks from supporting others to help themselves? Weird. If she was thinking about it she’d be at a 8 or 9/10 but since she’s so accustomed to this way of life that it just feels totally normal she’s more like a 4 or a 5. 

Jiang Fengmian: Avoids being more stressed by generally avoiding his problems, which is one way to deal with it but doesn’t really end up working out most of the time. 3/10.

Yu Ziyuan: Resides somewhere in the vicinity of 5/10 stress levels, 11/10 rage levels, and when the stress levels get above 5 then everyone else’s stress levels better be hitting the roof.

Lan Xichen: Lan Xichen would probably be relatively unstressed if life didn’t consistently come crashing through his relatively chill vibes. Lan Xichen on a good day is, like, 3/10, handling pretty well, but when things start going wrong around him then he pretty quickly hits critical stress levels and will do drastic things to resolve that, such as convincing Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao to set aside their near-murder differences and swear brotherhood, which will definitely work out absolutely fine. Ends up averaging closer to 8/10 because things keep going wrong around him.

Lan Qiren: He’d be fine if his entire family didn’t insist on causing him problems, constantly. Handling it surprisingly well, all things considered. Still 6/10 though.

Nie Mingjue: I mean, does spend a large chunk of time steadily inching toward a qi deviation? That on its own is pretty stressful and also he just seems like generally a high blood pressure sort of person. But the qi deviation inducing saber is definitely not, like, helping. Putting him at a roughly 6 or 7/10 with a median level that just keeps inching slowly upward.

Nie Huaisang: Actually less stressed than you’d expect given how flighty he seems to be! Even when plotting revenge is less “stressed” than “determined.” Pretty good at keeping himself calm most of the time. Generally sits at a stress level of 4/10 or so with a few significant exceptions.

Jin Guangyao: Very stressed all of the time. He has a lot to be stressed about! Between the various complexes and the tendency toward paranoia, Jin Guangyao is definitely among the most stressed in a room at any given time, while doing his best to convey otherwise. But seriously, look at this smile. Does that look like the smile of a serene man to you? 10/10.

Jin Zixuan: You know those high-strung racehorses that sometimes get spooked by, like, a shadow on the ground? That’s Jin Zixuan. Mostly manages to mask his constant low-level “AHHHHH” with a layer of arrogance and/or social awkwardness that looks like arrogance, but it’s there, in the background. 7/10.

Jin Zixun: Shielded from the general Jin neuroses by being an asshole. It’s not fair, but there you are. 3/10 because he does seem to have some inferiority complex issues going on, but that’s not the same thing as stress.

Jin Guangshan: Deserves to be a lot more stressed than he is. Alas, is confident enough to not be terribly stressed. 2/10.

Mianmian: So you know how cheetahs are very panicky animals and so they often in zoos get paired with dogs who will help them figure out that this situation is safe and they don’t need to panic? I feel like Mianmian is Jin Zixuan’s stress meter in their friendship. She will let him know when to be stressed! Because she is not going to spook at her own shadow. Has a sense of reasonable responses to stressors and knows how to remove herself from a bad situation when necessary. Generally a 5/10 because the inherent stress of existing in the Jin Sect is a real thing. 

Wen Qing: It’s hard to be the most competent person in the room most of the time who spends most of her time in very politically precarious positions and with her or her brother’s life at least sort of in danger! Pretty up there for “most stressed” candidates. She’s really having a time of it. Generally hovers around an 8/10.

Wen Ning: Generally not stressed, at least not in the traditional way. Is distressed a lot, but not so much stressed. Ends up at roughly 4/10.

Wen Chao: Like Jin Zixun, gets somewhat shielded from stress by being an unrepentant asshole, though his end of life 11/10 stress via Wei Wuxian kind of makes up for the rest. Averages more of a 2/10 most of the time, though? I don’t think we can let that relatively brief period skew the scale too much.

Wen Ruohan: Does “magic induced losing your mind” count as stress? I mean, he has a pretty stressful job even before that, but he doesn’t project “stress” so much as “incipient madness” during the period where we actually see him doing things. Not sure what rating to give here. It seems like he’s kind of on a different scale.

Wang Lingjao: For the most part seems to manage to get by relatively stress-free, up until things start going completely to shit and she gets haunted to death. Generally closer to a 2 or 3/10, because life as a servant ascended to mistress in a strictly hierarchical society is inherently a wee bit stressful.

Wen Zhuliu: Too sick of this shit and not getting paid enough to really stress out about it. 1/10.

Lan Sizhui: One of those people who manages to appear serene and calm all the time but mostly has just gotten used to functioning at a higher level of stress and therefore can pass for calm even when he is having an Experience of it, which makes his stress levels kind of hard to gauge. But I’d put him at a relatively consistent 6/10.

Lan Jingyi: Wouldn’t call him stressed exactly but he’s definitely very high energy. Kind of gives off the vibes of a very energetic dog who would be stressed if you didn’t keep him busy, but mostly (because I feel like Gusu Lan Sect is pretty good at keeping him busy) hovers around a 2 or 3/10. 

Jin Ling: I feel like Jin Ling isn’t stressed most of the time up until the actual events of CQL itself, where he is both very stressed and very confused almost constantly from the time he first runs into Wei Xuanyu, and it only goes downhill from there. So covering the events of the show I’m going to put him at a 7/10, because he does manage to deal with some wild things with some equanamity and makes it all the way to episode forty-five without breaking down sobbing.

Ouyang Zizhen: Seems like a sensitive soul but doesn’t give off the impression of carrying around a lot of stress, at least not from what we see of him. Probably the chillest of the junior quartet, tbh. Gonna give him a 2/10.

Xiao Xingchen: For most of his life Xiao Xingchen manages his stress very well! He’s actually surprisingly chill. Gets significantly more stressed, understandably, after Xue Yang engineers his no good very bad breakup (the first one) with Song Lan. But in general not that stressed! It is actually part of why he doesn’t handle the stress when it comes very well. He’s not used to it and he only had one pair of eyes to sacrifice. In general a 3/10.

Song Lan: Makes up for Xiao Xingchen’s relatively low stress levels by picking up on the stress for both of them. Still chiller than a lot of people on this list, though, but there’s a lot of very stressed people in this show, so. 5/10.

Xue Yang: Manages his stress by making everyone else very stressed, on purpose. If he’s having a bad day he’ll go and make someone else have a worse day and it helps. At least until there’s a dead Xiao Xingchen and then nothing helps! But as a rule exists at a general 2/10 and honestly he deserves it.

A-Qing: Her life is inherently stressful because she is a street kid trying to make it in a world that is not very friendly to people with no structure supporting them, but she manages to bear it pretty well on the whole. Still, it’s hard being a-Qing. She just makes it look easy. Probably a 4 or 5/10.

Sect Leader Yao: He’s not stressed, but he’s very good at making everyone around him stressed every time he opens his mouth. His presence is a +2 to stress for everyone in his vicinity with the exception of Sect Leader Ouyang, who is for some reason immune. 0/10.