#laika became a ghost

[dawnanddorisqna]

Are stop motion characters made into toons? I would assume the cast of The Nightmare Before Christmas were made into toons. But what’s about the characters from studio laika?

A good question, especially for this month. I’m going to answer this because Dawn wanted to send nothing but conspiracy theories and ghost stories. So, you’re about to get maybe a more analytical answer.

First, I want to bring up what toons are. We’re mostly light. There’s paint and ink in us, or at least some of us. A lot of digital toons now, but still, we have light in us the same way you have water in you. In fact, the first toon was nothing more than drawn lines of light.

They weren’t really sentient, but they could take orders and perform tasks like jumping and walking.

Light is still in us and, fun fact, it’s why you can still see our eyes in the dark.

Digital Toons have this, but they don’t have the same binding of paint and ink. At first, this was a problem because they could easily drop things or clip through things because they were mostly a thinking hologram. It’s been perfected now, no more floating or non shadows on them.

So what does this have to to with stop motion puppets? Well, though there have been tests on old clay puppets, adding this element to a puppet hasn’t been easy and also, became a little frowned upon. As time went on. The living puppets were seen as only creepy. Tiny creatures springing to life, studio heads didn’t care for it and it was hard to classify them. Toon? Real? still a puppet? New kind of animatronic? In the end, Stop motion remained a hand made medium. Much like muppets, you need an animator to bring them to life.

I honestly don’t agree with this. I think there are a lot of lovely characters who are not creepy. Wallace and Gromit for example. But the stigma has remained.

But there are rumors of living puppets. Ones studios keep secret. Ones we never see animated frame by from by an animator. And this is where I get into Dawn’s favorite part. Theories and Toon Ghost stories.

I’ve heard the rumors of Tiny Chef being sentient, and honestly, I haven’t seen anything to go against this, so maybe. Along with that, Laika uses a lot of computers in their films and for the puppets, especially after Paranorman (something I don’t know if I agree with). Because of that, there’s a rumor that they have a secret office that houses these characters along with some of the old Will Vinton characters. These rumors vary depending on who you talk to.

Aside from secret living puppets, there are also the ghost stories. That whole “They’re creepy” Thing brings up a lot of camp stories for toons. One was actually told on a radio show. The No sleep show? The story is called “The Toy Box” and it’s one Dawn really likes. If you ever want to hear what a Toon ghost story is like, that’s one of them.

So, this has been a long way of saying stop motion toons may exist in secret, in small forms. But most likely, they still need hands to bring them to life.

Thank you for the question,

Doris

[bestfurrywife]

Propaganda:

Viper:

"very sweet. voiced by lucy liu. she became a kung fu master because she was born without fangs."

Laika:

"immortal coyote who can talk to ghosts! she is a wonderful loving mother! she fights to save her tribe and end the war! she loves music! she has a motorbike! i could go on"

[lex-n-weegie]

Okay so I just watched this Toh video about th meaning of character names in the show and it made me look up things for Laika. I didn't think I'd get anything that amazing but I actually got some good stuff and I wanna ramble about it(which is ofc under the cut)

So looking up Laika itself gave me the meaning "the barker," as Laika was the name of the first dog to ever orbited the Earth. On one hand it's silly, but on the other it makes sense. I haven't talked about it much I don't think, of Laika is half witch and half demon, and some demons definitely at the very least look animalistic sometimes, like Eberwolf. It ends up tying her to the other half of herself.

Looking up "Lai" got me the meaning "to rely on depend on," which is funny in an ironic way. When younger Laika actually was a leader, an art club leader to be exact, which fits that rely/depend on bit. The ironic part is that in adulthood she started to close herself off and even bail on others, ghosting them entirely, you can't exactly rely on someone who's never there. Lai can also mean "beauty" or "numerous", and while beauty can explain itself numerous is interesting. Laika uses both bard and illusion magic, but she's much more defensive than anything. They use their powers to confuse and disorient rather than to harm or hurt. "Numerous" can be a small nod to the fact he makes illusions of himself to both perform and to get out of things. Also their multiple magic talents but the next one really shows it.

"Ka" didn't give me much at first, but then I got something amazing out of it. It's part of an Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul or spirit, means "double" or "vital essence." Double fits perfectly with the fact he uses two different magic types consistently. "Vital essence" goes well with her personality too. They might constantly think they're nothing more than a burden, but they're blind to the fact that they actually bring joy and light to every place they're in. With Raine, they're a reason to keep going and change the world. With the other Visions & Variety members, she's the reason the two of them made up and became friends, the reason the group exists both years back and today. With Darius, well they're his love, it's a bit self explanatory. For some she's the vital essence of their lives, the reason they're doing some of the things they're doing.

Whispers actually has a few different meanings besides just the act of whispering, but something interesting is when looking up its origins shows that at one point, "to hiss" was a part of it at one point, once again relating to her half demon origins. Though two different noun definitions also fit, "a rumor" and "a faint trace or hint." The rumor goes with his wild witch life, trying to idly spread the word of wild magic actually being good. And the faint trace/hint goes with her illusion abilities and how she simply "disappears" when scouts pop up, but also how she tries to hide her true feelings and emotions so often with only small hints to how they feel.

In the video they combine the meanings together to make a neat message of their name, but I'm not too sure what Laika's would end up being. Maybe "Dependable Essence" or "Beautiful Essence", just taking from the first name. With the entire name, mayyybe "Hint of Essence" or "Numerous Rumors". I don't know haha

[chibifoxwrites]

Since someone showed interest

During my rewrite for Cyber Heroine, it was originally going to be 100% based on the manga for Megaman NT Warrior with some occasional details from the anime and games thrown in. Some of the stuff stayed for the current, other stuff did not. Here were some ideas I had drafted:

The main cast were high school age, not elementary school.

Netto and her friends had drifted away come middle school but would get back together as friends during high school.

Netto was a loner and would spend her free time coding food, clothes, and toys for Net Navi’s, which is how she got income on the side. She is an unofficial intern at Sci-Labs since they double check her work.

The link was already in place thanks to X. Netto and Rockman have a betting pool as to when Yuuichiro was going to tell Netto that she used to have a twin.

70% of the twins using the mental link is just to share bud puns, jokes, and memes.

 Many of Netto’s classmates thought that her parents were divorced since Yuuichiro was never seen at home for more than a day or so.

It was known amongst Netto’s friends and peers that Rockman was modeled after Saito.

Netto and Rockman operated under the aliases of Aile and Vent, a famous hacker duo who operated like the Leverage team. Most of their crimes were giving back data stolen by major corporations to their rightful developers.

Multiple civilian Net Battlers actually fought against WWW if they were registered as B-rank or above, but only if they were near the attack site.

Many of the WWW attacks were actually targeting Netto, with those specifically being arranged by the Professor. Wily did not want anyone killed but hurt was fine.

To keep her cover, Netto had a wardrobe for her regular outfits and one for her Aile outfits.

Enzan and “Aile” had a Batman/Catwoman kind of relationship, where Enzan’s nickname was Mr. Official.

Rockman already had Style Change but had to undergo a trial for Saito Style.

Enzan was not their heir to a major corporation but the heir to a very old family involved in law enforcement, hence his involvement in police work at such a young age.

Enzan was jealous that another teenager, one that had better scores than him, was brought onto the force.

Netto and Enzan’s relationship was like that of Sakura and Syaoran.

When Rockman was first deleted, Blues would come over and watch Studio Ghibli and Disney films with Netto to just be there for her.

Mamoru was still the same age as when he first appeared in canon and raised by his aunt Tamako. He lived with her in the countryside when he wasn’t in the hospital. Netto would bring him books and games to keep him occupied. When Netto wasn’t around, he played with Serenade.

Serenade was VERY protective of Mamoru and would do anything to help Netto since she could make their NetOp laugh even when he was having a bad day.

Much of Rockman and Forte’s drama/rivalry was due to Netto. Forte wanted Netto to forsake humanity and be his friend/partner like when she was a kid, but Netto wanted to stay with Rockman and wouldn't turn against humanity.

Despite rejecting his offer, Forte would still come to Netto’s defense if she and Rockman were attacked.

Arcadia existed as a civilization of programs before it was attacked by a splinter cell in Sci-Labs led by Regal. Neo Arcadia was built by the remnants of the first attack.

The Four Guardians (Harpuia, Fefnir, Leviathan, Phantom) were condensed into small files and turned into the Element Programs, which Netto and Rockman stole back.

While operating as Aile in real life, Netto would use the Guardians.

Blues was made from data stolen from Arcadia and was created to be a prototype independent Net Navi that was the perfect soldier aka a Forte that only followed orders.

Laika and Netto were penpals as Laika stayed with the Hikari family when he was younger due to Sharro’s economy and his mother’s declining health. Yuuichiro and Laika’s mother were colleagues, so Laika stayed in Electopia until the economy got better and a permanent home could be found for him.

When the Cyber World and Real Worlds temporarily merged, Alia and Haruka had a girl’s day out.

Saito Style going out of control was due to repressed anger form both Netto and Rockman.

Netto has access to pop culture that didn't come about as planned because of the universe reboot so every once in a while, she makes a reference that nobody understands.

The cover for the illegal Net Battles was movie night, using movie from before the timeline reboot, hence Code 80s Dance Party.

When Double Soul activated, Netto got to keep chips of it like in the anime and people volunteered to try it with Rockman.

Dark Rockman was one of the multiple attempts of Yuuichiro trying to bring back Saito but deemed it a failure when it would not activate. He became a Darkloid due to the anger of being thrown away and abandoned.

Dark Rockman tried to force Netto to go Perfect Synchro with him. When she refused, he tried to kill Netto himself instead of having Shademan do it.

Netto was revealed as Aile during the Netopia Arc but was never formally arrested due to X being involved plus many people lobbying for her release.

Netto also had an identity crisis as to if she was really Hikari Netto or Aile Light due to past life memories.

The Netopia Arc had some real repercussions since the military technically abducted a citizen of another country under false pretenses, which is how X got properly introduced in person.

X, Zero, and Axl were merely mentioned until the Netopia Arc, where they actually showed up. Up until then, the only action they took was smiting opponents they knew ordinary Net Navis could not defeat.

Data Ghosts of the original Classic Robot Masters appeared to stop Nebula Grey.

There were only 3 Cyber Elves and they were larger than most Net Navis.

Cyber Elves had their own language and Netto would slip into it at times of high stress.

Forte was caught because he came to movie night and many were put under arrest for not reporting Forte’s whereabouts, including Blues, Searchman, and Tomohawkman.

X fist fought Duo to save the planet when it was found out that Slur rigged the entire trial.

Rockman got both of Gregar and Falzar’s data, not just Gregar.

Cache found a way to absorb the world like in the anime, not the Cybeasts like in the manga.

Trill was a prototype Net Navi for a Sci-Labs program that would allow Net Navis to have children of their own. He was created during the one year that Rockman was missing.

In the workshopped Ryuusei no Rockman spin-off of the series, Trill grew up to be the King of the Net Navis that fled Earth with the help of Duo when they became completely obsolete outside of basic functions and even helped Subaru return to Earth because it was what his older brother Rockman would want.

Subaru and Misora were main characters who came to the past to help stop Cache and were able to travel back in time thanks to Trill.

By the time Ryuusei no Rockman comes about, there is entire semester dedicated to the ‘Cyber Wars’ aka Netto and friends fighting crime. Subaru is an expert, has all the documentaries, and even fought Gonta for a replica of her headband.

Each college has at least one history degree path that covers history from before the universe reboot and is dedicated to finding the data and traces of it. Sharro has the leading university in the world concerning this subject and a statue of General Laika is in the lobby of the main building.

Cities, buildings, and other landmarks are named after Netto and her friends.

[aconboyindependent2021]

‘Now and Then’ - current state of play

My film is a re-imagining of the site of Brighton General Hospital next to my home. Until around 70 years ago, a workhouse operated on the site (for details, see: Gardner, J, (2012) A History of the Brighton Workhouses). Aspects of the austere workhouse are still evident on the site today. I began to think about the stories of the residents of the workhouse – what did they have to endure? With this in mind, I bought the above book by a local author about the history of workhouses in Brighton.

I have always been fascinated by the idea that traumatic events in a particular location can be recorded and replayed at a later time in history and that this might be a basis for ghosts and hauntings – for example, in the blockbuster, Poltergeist, and the BBC drama from the 1970’s The Stone Tapes (Sasdy, 1972). This is one of the key concepts behind the film.

After a lot of thought, I settled on the story of the workhouse being told by a single woman, Agatha, whose infant child was taken from her illegally and sold to a rich couple living in Brighton. This is a variation on the common Victorian  practice of unmarried women being compelled to give their children to a foundling home.

The film starts with Aggie telling her story in largely neutral terms and comparing the workhouse and the site’s positive use today as a hospital, but it climaxes with Aggie screaming with the loss of her child, and we see that she is a tormented spectre.The film ends with her anguish fading into a sign on the present site, promoting a nursery for infant children.

The film will be around 5-6 minutes long and will consist of edited original footage taken on the site in the present day. The film will be treated with video effects to alter the pacing, colour and atmosphere of the original footage. I have asked for a drama-trained friend to narrate the film as Aggie and will be using original and library sound effects and music motifs, or possibly drones to punctuate the soundtrack.

Now and Then – influences from other artists

1. Brian Percival - About a Girl

Female voice-over revealing a terrifying truth about motherhood at the end of the film. This film gives a cold dead feeling inside from the casual yet downcast demeanor as the leading character talks about her dysfunctional life and especially the ending, where the girl is revealed to have secretly miscarried a baby and we see her dump it into the canal (“I’ve become good at hiding things”). Both my film and About A Girl attempt to humanise the female main character outside of their tragedies.

2. Tobe Hooper - director of Poltergeist Paranormal activity centred around past events and the presence of aggrieved spirits. This was a film that made an impact on me from its non-stop tension, even before the presence of the supernatural becomes apparent. Tobe Hooper, ever since creating The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) has achieved many awards, and after this film, it is easy to see why. It also has a similar plot to my initial idea for my film - where a great wrong done in the past creates a ‘haunting’ by aggrieved spirit(s)..

3. Peter Sasdy – Director of The Stone Tape (1972)

The original idea from the film was stones “recording” traumatic events from the past. While the current draft has drifted away from this concept, it still lives on with how Agatha remembers everything about the past as if she died yesterday, despite the superficial veneer of the current day hospital. However, Agatha is a real soul though in my film.

4. David Lynch - Eraserhead, The Elephant Man His black and white films – particularly The Elephant Man In the latter, view of Victorian England shot in black and white featuring cruelty and time-specific sounds, sights and atmospheres. The film always seems to have a sense of foreboding, even when the scene is uneventful, and with a deeply engaging soundtrack. Eraserhead will always always be an influence due to its deliberate disturbing monochrome style, investigation of altered perception and the anxieties of parenthood.

5. James Gardener- Author of: A Complete History Of Brighton Workhouses A detailed and easy-to-understand book centred around the original workhouse in my area. It includes the Brighton General Hospital Site. It helped give a real-life grounding to my supernatural tale.

6. Richard Boden - director of the Blackadder series 4 finale, Goodbyeee The series as a whole has very little to do with my film, but this is a powerful episode whose fade-out ending and closing-sound inspired the cross-dissolve effects and soundscape in my film - coincidentally both are centered with the cruelty of the past and atmospheric sound. Present and past merge at this point. One of the most popular scenes in TV drama/comedy and understandably so too.

7. Piotr Obal – various films and still images Obal is an independent artist who works with art, music and still photography. Occasionally, he teaches youths how to work at the computer like me (!) when he was helping out with an arts award I was studying for. Below is one of his images that has been an influence on me and the film. I love his Photoshop collages and the wonderful images he posts from his native Poland.

                                                        Work by Piotr Obal

8. Nalini Malani- for her immersive installations, ‘disgraced’ women under partiarchy, history and mythology, miscarriages of justice. I found out about Malini when I was writing my essay on her work in the  Diversity module: what started off as just finding out about an artist for the sake of my writing became a long-lasting admiration and inspiration from an artist who not only knows where she is coming from (from her upbringing hugely affected by India and Pakistan’s partition) but willingly sticks her neck out for those oppressed by society and history, and confidently shows her creations to the world. A particularly relevant aspect of her work is her use of the supernatural and mythology stories and myths to highlight aspects of women’s oppression throughout history.

9. Chris Butler- director of ParaNorman A key influence, supposedly aimed at children, I used the same of the spectre in this moving animation, and I was influenced by its themes about the cruelties of humanity and how we “moved on”. The spectre is a ghost of a falsely accused of being a ‘witch’ who wreaks her revenge on those who persecuted her.

It was also a strong influence that is more powerful at its climax and twist. In-depth look at how prejudice destroys lives that are never regained - even  death provides no relief. Butler is a part of Studio Laika, creating animated films that go beyond the norm.

10. Jacqueline Wilson - the writer of the Hetty Feather trilogy and other such Victorian novels such as Clover Moon.

A part of Jacqueline’s writings is her commentary about how unjust the past could be compared to today: even though her protagonists speak in ways that were customary to Victorians, she keeps them relatable the same way she keeps her modern-day protagonists relatable. The writing style of her books inspired certain characteristics of Agatha’s narration, because it was easy to understand yet engaging.

11. David Lean  - Director of Great Expectations (1946) This film, based on the Dickens book,  also brought to mind the cruel period of the Victorian era, and the acting and emotions continued that spirit and my inspiration around my project. I love that it is black and white as well as dialog-centred - I particularly like the formal style of speech - even to express negative emotions- for example:

“Let me point out the topic that in London it is not the custom to put the knife in the mouth for fear of accidents. It's scarcely worth mentioning, Only it's as well to do as others do”.

Miss Havisham, an almost ghostly older woman, in a similar way to Agatha cannot move beyond the terrible wrong done to her - she was left at the alter and devoted her life to training her adopted daughter, Estella, to get revenge on men.I use s similar obsessive, sing-minded hatred to motivate Agatha.

12. Sunset Boulevard (1950)

This film involve a man becoming the object of affection of a former silent movie star, Norma Desmond who overtake his life little by little until she kills him. Norma suffered with the times when silent movies went out of fashion and she is unable to move on, alone in her great house: people told Norma that she had no value and it had an impact on her psyche. She loses all sanity when arrested for killing Joe Gillis as she believes she is back in show business. The film also explores facades; Norma may live a glamorous if not lonely life, but her mental state torments her, like Aggie has with hers as she wanders around the hospital site driven ‘mad’ with grief and anger.  

13. R D Laing: ‘anti-psychiatrist’

'Here was someone explaining madness, showing how the fragmentation of the person was an intelligible response to an intolerable pressure”

Quote from: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/25/rd-laing-aaron-esterson-mental-illness

 In discussing the concept of my film with a member of my family, I was directed to the psychiatrist/anti-psychiatrist, RD Laing. In the 1960’s and early 1970’s Laing wrote about how a person’s so-called ‘mad’ behaviour was in fact intelligible when their entire situation and experience was taken into account. He and other writers (like David Cooper) talked about the concept of the ‘double-bind’ where a person’s opportunity to make a decision to resolve the way they were being treated was blocked – perhaps by a member of their family saying that it was not in their personality to be assertive or angry.

This reminded me very much of Agatha; she tries to express her outrage at the great wrong done to her, but she is judged as unworthy and undeserving, so the wrong is seen as justified and her punishment for being the ‘low-life’ who would have a child and have to live in a workhouse. It is circular – she is treated badly because she deserves to be treated badly and so this means that her hatred and insanity brings the great wrong up herself.

Laing is largely forgotten today, but his ideas resonate with certain ideas in feminism and anti-racism. ‘Gaslighting’ is everywhere, both back then and now.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NnBonXPLJM

[365days365movies]

April 1, 2021: The Gold Rush (Review)

This is a classic silent film...and that doesn’t make this easy.

This is the first silent film that I’ve covered in this blog. Not the first I’ve ever seen, of course, but the first that I’ve ever had to sit down and review like this. So, before I jump into attempting to judge this film on my own merits, I have a couple things to say. First things first...why didn’t I choose The Kid, Chaplin’s first feature-length comedy film? Why The Gold Rush instead?

Well, chief amongst those reasons is simply the fact that I think this one is more important for me to watch. It’s Chaplin’s third film, he’s already an established star, and he was able to exert a lot of creative influence on this one, making this a good pick to view him as an auteur. It’s lauded as his best film by most people, and it produced one of the most famous scenes in film history (the bread roll dance scene). To be honest...I thought that it would be weirder having not seen this film, and it would be having not seen The Kid. That make any sense? It’s weird, I know.

That’s not to say the The Gold Rush is the last Chaplin movie I’ll ever see. Hell, this month, I have TWO MORE on my list, although we’ll see if I inevitably decide to watch them. I think I will, though, because they’ve been on my list for a while. Although, I’ll have to decide between City Lights and Modern Times...hmmm. We’ll see.

The other thing I want to address is what happened to Chaplin around this time. I hinted at it in the Recap, but I want to elucidate further here. In 1919, Chaplin came up with his plan to make his own film studio, uniting with famous director D.W. Griffith, and famous silent film actress Mary Pickford. This became United Artists, and was meant to allow actors to control their careers and interests, instead of relying on larger studios. And in case you weren’t sure, this studio is indeed still around! Their next film?

Oh, yeah, these are the Bond guys! What was their last film?

Ah. Well. That’s too bad. They also work with LAIKA and MGM, control the Rocky/Creed franchise alongside Bond, and are a pretty successful studio, all things considered! As for Chaplin, he made films with UA starting in 1923, with A Woman in Paris, and ending in 1952, with Limelight. He made 2 more films after this, but I’ll talk about that at a later date.

Once The Kid came out, Chaplin’s studio was a success, and he was a millionaire, and had been married to actress Mildred Harris, with whom he had a child when she was...16, oh NOOOO. That child sadly died a few days later, but their marriage persisted for 2 years, before ending quite bitterly in 1920. Chaplin wasn’t the best partner. But, losing his child ended up fueling his work on The Kid, which was a smash-hit. He wrote a book, he got engaged, he stopped being engaged when he straight-up ghosted that girl, and he filmed the drama A Woman in Paris with UA, and it was another reflection about his life, being about ill-fated lovers. It didn’t do very well.

That was made WAY worse by personal circumstances with newest wife, Lita Grey. Also 16 when they married (compared to Chaplin’s 35, BIG FUCKIN’ YIKES), this was a shotgun wedding of sorts, spurred on by an unexpected pregnancy. The two wed during the end of the production of The Gold Rush. Grey, by the way, was in The Kid, and was ORIGINALLY Georgia in The Gold Rush. But this is Chaplin we’re talking about, of COURSE this marriage was terrible.

See, they ended up having 2 kids within less than a year, because Chaplin was...Chaplin. But Charles HATED spending time with Lita, and spent most of his time away from her at the studio. The Gold Rush replaced Lita for Georgia Hale (an admirer of Chaplin since she was young), and the film was a massive success. And the marriage to Lita ended in a FIERCE divorce, which resulted in Lita taking the kids and leaving a year later in 1926. And that divorce was huge news...but I think I’ll wait to talk about that later.

Let’s get into...oh, God, she was ELEVEN when they started working together on The Kid, and they had a kid together FIVE YEARS LATER??? GROSS, DUDE.

...Let’s get into the Review.

Review

Cast and Acting: 8/10

Charlie Chaplin is, well, Charlie Chaplin. He’s keyed into his role more than anybody else in history, and the Tramp/Prospector shines here, unsurprisingly. Chaplin’s basically perfect, and for all of his IMMENSE faults as a human being, his acting in this film certainly isn’t amongst them. All credit where credit’s due, honestly. But, OK, everybody else? Honestly, pretty good! I’m not accustomed to judging silent performance, ESPECIALLY in a comedy, so the visual performances are almost all fantastic. But if you want a liiiiiiiittle nitpicking...Georgia Hale is a little stiff at times, Mack Swain is a little over-the-top occasionally, and Tom Murray is just...there. These are extremely minor, but compared to Chaplin, they don’t QUITE measure up. To be fair, though, this is basically nitpicking.

Plot and Writing: 9/10

A comedy’s strength is in its writing, which I argued in my little dissection of the comedy “genre” (you can check that our right here, if you want), as well as the performance of that writing. Which is why silent films are...complicated. So, instead, my target has to be the execution of the plot and story. And...yeah, it’s a straightforward plot, understandable story, no real strain here at any turn. It’s a good story, and Charlie Chaplin (of course) does a good job with it. Apparently, he really WAS inspired by the story of the Donner Party (meaning that the choice to film in Truckee MUST have been on purpose), which is why I KNEW that shoe-eating thing seemed familiar. The Donner Party did the exact same thing with their shoes! Y’know, before eating each other, of course. But this was a well-written story, with more complexity than expected. Or possibly necessary, because Larsen really didn’t need to be here for the plot to work. That is a little weird for me, but I also understand why he was included. Again, nitpicking all over the place.

Directing and Cinematography: 10/10

No nitpicking for me here! Charlie Chaplin is a famously good director, and this is a great example of his work. Very typical for the time, sure, and mostly just perfunctory, but it’s still a well-directed film. Cinematography was surprisingly Roland Totheroth, and not Chaplin! Not that Totheroth was a slouch either. Ol’ Rollie (as he was often billed) is one of Charlie Chaplin’s most ardent comrades (ha...communism. That will...that’ll make sense later), and accompanied him as cinematographer and camera operator for over 30 films. And this is another great example of his work!

Production and Art Design: 10/10

If Chaplin wanted to recreate arctic boomtowns and desolate cabins...gotta say, he nailed it. This looks great, and the setting feels quite authentic, all things considered. For 1925, I think Chaplin exceeds expectations here. Now, granted, there are films from this time period that have really hefty production budgets, but this one is still a great looking film regardless of that. Again, credit where credit’s due.

Music and Editing: 9/10

Funny thing; the 1940s reissue of this film had different music added to it, because Chaplin wanted different music on it, and a lot of people who say they like that release say that the music is better. Which is interesting, because I REALLY liked the music in this movie! Using covers of classical music works quite well, I think, and the original tracks are pretty great as well. I mean, just looking at the dancing rolls GIF up there reminds me of the sprightly tune accompanying it. And that music was selected by, big surprise, Charlie Chaplin. He’s not the only person involved, of course, but he was a major part of this choice. And yes, he was ALSO the editor for the film! Geez, dude wore many black bowler hats, huh? Well, that docked point is for the slightly off editing in a few scenes, but it’s really not bad. This is once again me nitpicking.

94%, and it’s worth every digit, and more!

This is one of the great American classic films (ironically made by a British filmmaker), and it’s a movie that should be seen by everybody at least once. Is it my favorite comedy? FUCK NO IT AIN’T. But mostly, that’s because this film is funny...but that’s not where its charm lies. It’s not nearly as funny as many comedies I’ve previously covered, but it has a HELL of a lot of heart to go with it. It’s a worthy film on its own merits, divorced from the normal trappings of comedies. You can literally find the film, THE ENTIRE FILM, on Wikipedia. So check it out!

But for now, let’s move from the Tramp to another dynamo of the Silent Era. And yeah, we have a few more people from this time period to cover. Isn’t that right, Buster?

April 2, 2021: The General (1926), dir. Buster Keaton

[bifacialler]

So I went to see Frozen 2 with the fam

And let me put it into context, I thought the first one was... massively overrated. 

[Disclaimer: all of this is my personal opinion and you may not agree with it. There is a very high chance you will not agree with it. Also, I watched it with Russian dub, so maybe some finesse was lost on me.]  

Like okaaay, it’s a sister-tale and it was okay in terms of story and engagement, and yeah, we all laughed about Elsa’s ghost braid and the one-face syndrome of the female cast, but the animation quality was good, and Hans plot twist WAS unexpected. It just didn’t blow me way narratively. Maybe because Snow Queen was important to me as a child and the old soviet cartoon will forever be my go-to reference. 

So when I went to watch the Sequel, I a) had next to no idea what it was going to be about and b) seeing the trailer, I was sure the animation would have upgraded, and I hoped they would take on the misgivings of the first film and improve upon them. 

Frozen 2 (as it turned out to be) was not the film I expected to see. 

I’m going to make this (try to make this) a spoiler-free review. This is mostly for me to spill acid in the wake of Oscar Nominations that thought to include this sequel and fucking Live-Action Animation movie we are not going to name, and not KLAUS. 

Which is the best animation made this year. 

You can fight me outside if you don’t agree. 

[Missing Link was okay, though not as emotionally thoughtful as any other Laika work. Toy Story 4 was alright-ish, but still underwhelming in comparison to TS3. The only film I have no questions about is HTTYD 3 - it was very good, but this is not what this post is about.]

So anyway, Frozen 2 is a total mess. 

Visually it’s wonderful, and the sisters look different (slightly), and parents have some sort of personalities, which still makes their Else-related decision strange and shitty parenting. We all agreed it was after the first film, but I’m going to return to this pint later.  

There are two major themes going to through the plot, the first one just bashing you head-first from the very beginning, while the other follows... two minutes later. The thing with these two themes is: the first one is the most foreseeable plot twist of all time, especially if you consider this film as a product of our current social climate, while the second one, while kinda the continuation of Elsa’s “Let it go” character arc, takes this arc to some very very far-fetched OP level, that at some point you really have to sit back and force yourself to suspend the disbelief of “Elsa, the most Magical Girl of them all”. 

It’s honestly a shame. Because these core themes are not the worst. There are a lot of element to them that the film introduces that are good, and could work, EXCEPT the film either does nothing with them, or tries to underplay them as something mysterious and strange which... they kinda don’t feel like. 

All of these problems stream from one massive misgiving the film has, and it’s that the film doesn’t clearly know who it is for. It tries to play the card of “kids who watched the first movie will come to see this one, so this film is for them”, but what was supposed to be a step forward, somehow became two steps back. The theme A will not engage adults, because adults will see through it in 5 seconds and the final outcome of it will be the only thing acceptable as an outcome (within the current cultural climate, as I mentioned before), while at the same time it will not work for kids, because they will, quite frankly, not give single fuck about it. They will giggle at Olaf and his questionable shenanigans, that will pop up at random times during the film, kinda stalling the plot - no, let me correct myself. Kids will engage with Olaf’s slap-stick, and... nothing else. I wish I could not say that, but I sat in the movie theatre packed with kids, and this is what I saw and heard. When the kid on the seat before me (6-7 yo) during one of the most emotional parts of the film replied to Anna’s “what am I going to do now?” with “nothing”, it dawned upon me that the message did not connect. 

I personally had to pause myself several times during the showing, just to ask myself: What the actual hell am I watching?

And then we come to theme B. I heard in one of the reviews that this film would have been a much better, more engaging film if the creators made it Just Elsa’s Story. Both themes could have been included, but the emphasis wold have been solidly of theme B and Elsa, and how we, as audience, would experience this whole process with her, and I agree. Not that it would have been completely awesome for younger kids, because the concept of it flies a bit over their age group, but it would have been interesting for Elsa stans, and as a general themes of the movie. 

But this universe is not just about Elsa. It has Anna as well. And this movie does Anna a huge disservice. I’m not even going to talk about Kristoff. That was just... sad. So very sad, and pointless, and every time their interactions came on screen I had to stuff down my second-hand embarassment and marvel at how this relationship is not ready for what the film wants it to be and how can you mess up the intriguing chemistry that they started to in the first film. (Also, if you actually like the whole Kristoff in the Woods music video, but somehow ever said anything bad about Strange Magic, you are on my problematic list. I’m not fucking around.) But Anna - she was a decent character, and humanly believable, and now she is... in this movie. This is Elsa Movie and Anna is... also in it. (Unlike Kristoff.) Wow.

But the strangest thing about this movie is that with both themes A and B combined, we encounter a dilemma that overruns both of them, and in many ways, renders them null. It came to my attention when some young dad behind me muttered half-way “Can you believe these two run a kingdom?”, and I had a revelation. They DO run a kingdom. And the narrative “call to action” is kingdom-related, except it’s not, because it’s Elsa related. And Theme B is kingdom-related, except it’s not, it’s past related. It’s a question of responsibility, except somehow all of this responsibility is not about the Now. The characters feel the need to fix what was done before them, to discover what was before them, while literally abandoning the present for the past. The one time when the stakes are actually raised, ONE TIME in the whole movie when you have to actually worry, I was seriously more concerned about how the whole of the kingdom is.... I can’t explain it without spoilers, but when the ruler has to chose between the mistakes of the past and the preservation of the current, I’m honestly fucking worried about the kingdom and the people living in it, and maybe Anna and Elsa should not be fucking rulers. I’m just saying. 

But even that is, this one stake... is flushed down the drain. The resolution of the film feels rushed and jumbled, and most importantly, Nothing is Lost. I had to sit and watch in awe at how Zero Sacrifices were made. The characters make a right moral choice therefore there will be no bad consequences. What the actual fuck. For a film that makes us wonder about who we are and now we make major decisions, it offers no serious outcomes to these decisions. And this is why it’s two steps back. 

First movie made it clear that Letting it Go is not just about your personal freedom, but also about stepping out of comfort zone to embrace who you are and what is important. It made it clear that personal relationships are not straight forward, and take time and work and communication. 

And it feels like this sequel kinda spit in the face of all these ideas. The characters now do whatever they want, and in the way, especially in application to Anna and Elsa, repeat the very same mistakes their parents did, except it’s now somehow a good thing. Because everything works out in the end because magic. 

Oh, fuck off. 

[carriagelamp]

October Book Review pt1: Spooky Month

I made the conscious choice this month to try to read some “spooky” books, and honestly it’s been a really fun way to get into the Halloween spirit in a way I haven’t in years. So pt1 of my October posts will go up on Halloween, and pt2 will come after with the non-spooky books.

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark

A classic from my childhood that I obviously had to reread the second I decide to do this. Thanks to the movie (which I also watched last August) there’s copies of these books everywhere again and I was able to pick one up cheap. Nothing “scary” for an adult reader, but some of them still gave me delightful little chills when I was reading them every night before bed! Also they’re tons of fun to read out loud -- getting to scream ME TIE DOUGH TY WALKER at my cousins was a goddamn delight.

Goosebumps: Escape From Bat Wing Hall

Readers beware. You choose the scare. 

My friends and I played with this book tons as kids, and was another delightful one to reread. I read it out loud for my girlfriend (who had never read it before) and I got to watch her die miserably multiple times in her attempt to win. OBVIOUSLY you don’t lean INTO THE MUMMY SARCOPHAGUS, fool.

Goosebumps: Wolf Skin

Last Goosebumps book I’ll mention, promise. But I was actually surprised by what a well put together story this was. The characters were nothing to write home about, but it built tension really well, and the plot twist at the end delighted me. The story starts when Alex, aspiring photographer, goes to stay with his aunt and uncle in the small community of Wolf Creek. Except he runs into something truly terrifying when he’s in the woods trying to get a good picture to submit for the Halloween Photo Contest, and strange sounds and sights seem to come from the reclusive neighbours’ house...

 Honestly, if you want to revisit you childhood Goosebumps phase (or just want something chill and “spoopy” to read that won’t take you long, since that was what I needed) I would totally recommend going with this one.

Hilda and the Mountain King

I am eagerly awaiting the second season of the show, so obviously I had to get into the comics. After the cliffhanger that Hilda and the Stone Forest left us with, I was dying to get my hands on this one. The sudden shift the story seems to take from misadventures to a greater plot was fascinating, and as always the art was gorgeous and the world so enticing I never want to leave it. After a fight with her mom, Hilda finds herself stuck in the troll mountains with no way to escape as she is right now. While Hilda learns more about troll society and her own predicament, her mom is frantically trying to find Hilda and get her home. Stunning, but don’t read without reading Hilda and the Stone Forest first.

ParaNorman

The novelization of the Laika film, and about what you would expect. If you liked ParaNorman, this is a fun, quick novel that does the movie justice, though without delivering any other real surprises and bonuses. It tells the story of Norman, a normal boy with the unusual gift to be able to speak with ghosts that no one else in town sees or believes in. Life is tricky enough, but then on the eve of the great Witch Trial that the town is famous for an ancient curse is reawakened and Norman finds himself wrapped up in the middle of it all.

I Spy: Spooky Night

Falling into my Read For Joy category of books. I loved I Spy books as a kid but was never allowed to buy them. Well, I’m an adult now who is fully capable of buying I Spy books! I spend about a week gradually solving all the riddles and it was such a wholesome joy I can’t recommend it enough. I just love looking at how the pictures are put together!

Alice Isn’t Dead

The story is about a woman who suffers from anxiety, and who recently experienced the loss of her wife, Alice. Except Alice has started appearing all over the place, in news casts, at the edge of the screen, and Keisha is compelled to follow her missing wife’s trail, taking the job as a cross-country trucker and finding herself thrust in the midst of horrors she could never have imagined.  I’m not finished this one, but so far it is unfortunately disappointing. I really enjoy the podcast, but the novelization leaves something to be desired. Switching from the original spoken person framing device to plain prose means a lot of the chilling, unsettling, and beautifully poetic descriptions have been dropped, and the the writing feels a lot flatter and less compelling to me. I wish they’d done what they did with the Welcome To Night Vale adaptation and just kept it in it’s original script format. Still, it’s intriguing story, and I always enjoy some queer lit.

Warren the 13th and the Whispering Woods

It has a similar heart to The Series of Unfortunate Events, though a little less melancholy and a bit more fantastical. This is the second book of the series that follows a young boy, Warren, the 13th in a line of Warrens who have always run the hotel. Once the hotel fell into his uncle’s care though, after his father’s death, it became increasingly run down and dilapitated, though Warren worked the hardest he could to keep it running. Filled with secrets, riddles, witches, monster, and off-the-wall adventure, it’s a engaging, easy read. The biggest highlight though? The pages are all SO MUCH FUN TO LOOK AT

xxxHolic

One of my old manga that I reread this month. Not true “horror” by any means, but I’ve always loved stories that play with a just-beyond-your-vision, cosmic sort of spookiness. Filled with lots of ghosts, a spirits, and forces working against Watanuki, you get a story of a high schooler trying to deal with mundane problems like friendship, a difficult boss, as well as his place in the universe and exactly how dangerous that place might be. One of my favourite manga, tbh, and there are definitely better descriptions out there. Story, art, the way stories seem to start as very benign until all of a sudden the stakes shoot up? Excellent shit.

The Witch Boy

A comic series about a family in which the boys become shapeshifters and the girls become witches. Everyone knows how dangerous it is for a boy to learn witchcraft or a girl to learn shapeshifting -- that sort of hubris can have fatal consequences. And yet Aster wants nothing to do with shifting, and does everything he can to sneak around his family and learn the witchcraft secrets the rest of his family is learning, he knows that this is his calling. Beautiful art and a great exploration of gender norms through the lens of fantasy; I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

The Okay Witch

Another cute graphic novel about witches. This one about a girl who is shocked to discover that not only does she have magical powers... but so does her mom! Something that’s been kept a secret from her for her entire life. This one also has lovely art, though the story is nothing particularly new. It’s worth the read, but between the two Witch Boy delivers the stronger adventure in my opinion.

Deltora Quest

Another one that isn’t necessarily “Halloween-y” but the covers of these books always scared my brother too much to read, so I figure I can include it. This was my favourite children’s series growing up and to this day I still genuinely love the story. It’s the epitome of an adventure quest, and Emily Rodda went hard when it came to the monsters and horrors she populated her books with. One of the best series out there for grade two or three readers in my opinion, as it really introduces the idea of a continuing narrative that builds from book to book and can have plot twists not just within a single book but within an over arching series.

Liō

A cutely dark comic strip series about Liō, a Weird Kid, and occasional mad scientist, necromancer, world destroyer, and prankster. Almost entirely visual, with minimal text, it’s such a charming comic there’s no excuse for not reading it. Go find some of the strips online, they’re a delight.

[what-is-love-babey-dont-hurt-me]

Consider: Danny Phantom and Laika, the space ghost dog

Sorry this took me so long to answer, I was sick for a while. But anyways. You. I like the way you think. Hey Anon, I don’t know who you are, but you have earned my undying love. I want to, will, and already have married you.

I have so many emotions after I considered this and really, I can’t help myself when it comes to screaming about space. So here are my considerations (also shhh im ignoring some science facts for the purpose of telling the story)

Also, please take a look at this wonderful art made by the lovely @wolfsongroar because it inspired the ending to this drabble

::

Danny didn’t exactly remember how or when he first heard of the dog.

He had been young, a little innocent kid so easily starstruck by anything dealing with the idea of space. The kid often went on conquests for information and his parents were always too happy to help their future little scientist. It was probably a children’s book or magazine. He recalled learning the name of the first satellite put into orbit - courtesy of Russia - Sputnik. He learned of Sputnik II, the famous vessel that brought the first animal into orbit.

At the time, the young Danny Fenton knew there was a dog but something bad happened to it. The article was put into simpler, glorified terms aimed for a younger audience, essentially saying the dog died peacefully after a week in space.

The reality of what happened to the dog - Laika - didn’t escape his sharp mind. But young Danny Fenton didn’t quite get the concept of death quite then. Such an idea terrified him, and the poor little compassionate soul was scared for the dog.

The memory of crying in his parent’s laps while having death explained to him was gone but never quite forgotten in the flurry of childhood.

::

At age fourteen, he became painfully familiar with the concept of death. It still terrified him. This was a memory that was always haunting the edges of his every thought.

It was the push of a button that changed things for Danny, and he would never forget.

He was panicked, a bolt of something stronger than anxiety took over Danny’s being. He wanted to run. Strange sounds, strange lights, and strange sensations were too overwhelming. Try all he wanted, but Danny couldn’t move.

His muscles were seized in a literal death grip on a piece of loose wiring. He touched it by pure chance and now he was wishing this jumpsuit was made of some sort of insulator. An incomplete circuit or some broken wiring, that was the problem with the portal, he realized just too late. The electricity caused all of his muscles to seize, he couldn’t move.  Now his body was at the mercy of his environment. Hell, the electricity was probably cooking his body as he stood there.

His heart hadn’t even been beating when a bolt of pure ectoplasm had hit him in the back of the head.

Danny’s mind had been moving a mile a minute as it happened. Everything was too hot, the air was a coarse poison. At least the sparks were pretty, they remind him of the stars.

CRACK.

::

Nothing had been the same since.

He obsessed over things. He was always depressed or tired or angry or on the verge of tears. He scared everybody (intentionally or not) he knew and they now bend over backwards as to not set the ghost off. Even dogs were scared of him.

This lost, tainted taste of humanity made him upset. This was nothing he wanted.

And on nights like this, when he wished he wasn’t some sort of half breed that shouldn’t exist, he liked to distract his mind and dwell on happier times.

He was reading something online about Laika.

And it wasn’t a happy or valiant story as that children’s book portrayed it to be.

Newspapers and other public sources of the time said that the dog lasted a week and went relatively peacefully. Later on, the actual details were released. The reality was the dog was alive in Space for a few hours at the most.

And now Danny knew it was far from peaceful.

That fact made Danny’s heart hurt. It made his core ache in sympathy.

Laika had been a stray they took off the street, trained to stay in tiny spaces, undergoing various tests that astronauts go through. A ship was no place for a dog.

Something went wrong. She quickly died of stress. She quickly died of overheating. The scientists didn’t expect her to last more than four days in the first place. She had been left completely at the mercy of a cruel and unforgiving environment.

And maybe he was grasping at straws, but Danny couldn’t help but to think of how similar his own death was.

He cried.

::

Space was an interesting place.

It was terrifying, cold, eerie, beautiful and peaceful. It seemed to be too much to describe or handle, it always contradictory.

He loved it

And Space always had an interesting effect on him - namely his ghostly mind.

The first time he visited had been due to an accident with a new teleportation power. And that was one of the few accidents that lead to some good in his life.

Space made his ghost half feel… completed? There was no good word for it. That place brought back a childish happiness that he thought had been long dead, it felt good. The ghostly parts of him that liked to obsess Latched onto this and made him visit as often as he could.

Later he would find out it was because of his last thoughts. Years later, Danny would find that he couldn’t exactly recall his last thoughts, but if they were about Space then it didn’t surprise him.

Danny had a small collection of souvenirs going, which also made his ghost half happy. A few space rocks he thought looked neat, two tiny bolts, and a piece of a broken solar panel.

The space junk as interesting. Though hard to come by in the sheer enormity of Space, he loved to look at it and for it. One of Danny’s favorite fun facts was of a spatula being lost in space. He would love to find it one day.

Sam and Tuck compare his new collection to that of a bird who collects shiny things. He tells them to shut up.

And while being up there makes him happy, Danny still feels somewhat unsatisfied. At the end of the day, he still has to return home before curfew and he still has to deal with being inhuman. Half the time it’s like putting a bandaid on a wound that needs stitches. It’s like going to Disneyland when you have depression.

Looking at the trash at leasts gets his mind off of things.

It was by pure chance he stumbled upon another ghost in Space.

He was initially lured in by wreckage of a cone-shaped satellite (or capsule? He wasn’t sure what was a better word for it). But oh wow… he hasn’t come across anything quite like this yet. Fascinating! When Danny’s mind became fixated on the celestial trash, he manages to forget everything, just for a bit.

The contraption is larger than him, and he isn’t sure of what to do with it. His mind not-so-helpfully offered the idea of taking it home. That wouldn’t work. Probably. Maybe he would try it but he needs to know more first. The cold metal surface seems to have been worn down by the (nonexistent) environment. He flew closer, maybe there would be some identifying mark.

The last thing Danny expected to happen was for his ghost sense to go off.

The innocent wonder and fascination were gone in a snap. Back were those guarded and aggressive fighting behaviors that he associated with cold lungs. He was unsettled. This was supposed to be his little safe place, no ghosts should be here. After glancing around and seeing nobody, his stance dropped by just the slightest bit.

His eyes were once again trained on the satellite in a suspicious, untrusting gaze.

Something in the back of his mind was itching, though. Despite himself, Danny’s suspicion was melting away into something akin to thoughtfulness and curiosity. It was the satellite. Maybe the Itself vessel was a ghost? Concepts, possessions, and structures have the potential to crossover into the Ghost Zone and be classified as undead. In this case, he doubted that theory.

A satellite with a ghost on it?

He finally touched the cold metal, not really affected by the temperature. He wished there was sound in space, though. The action felt incomplete without some sort of thumping noise.  Nothing happened. He further hesitated before phasing his head in near the top, his personal otherworldly glow lit up what he saw. Wires and electronics. Lovely. He continued to slowly work his way down, marveling at the technology.

On some level, Danny knew it was coming. Regardless, the boy wasn’t prepared for when he came eye to eye with a starry ghost dog.

Both ghosts were transfixed.

Danny didn’t even realise he had phased a hand in until the ghost dog had gotten up from a resting position. But the halfa’s eyes gazed to the floor of the small pod, past the legs of the ghost and to the mess on the floor-

Startled, he phased his head out, forcibly putting space between himself and what was in there.

He couldn’t get his mind off of it. He couldn’t get his body to stop shaking. His arms were clasped tight around his body in some attempt of self comfort. A anxiety attack of some sort is what Jazz would tell him what was happening. It didn’t matter, though.

Danny never did good with seeing the aftermath of death. And that? He had reasons for trying not to cry in Space but things were already difficult, that is close to pushing him over the edge. This was supposed to be his solitary corner of reality. The halfa continued with his internal war.

But a little wet nudge on his cheek brought him out of that headspace. There was some ice on his cheek, but Danny didn’t give it any mind.

He cracked open one eye - not even realising they were closed - and there was the starry mutt. ’Laika’, some part of his mind whispered.

Danny didn’t dare to move one bit, only staring. Dogs didn’t like him very much anymore, he reminded himself. But…The mutt was wagging her tail, and little bits of stardust were flung with it. The dog had not run away yet.

Danny reached a hand to it.

Laika didn’t flinch like other dogs he tried to pet. To his delight, she leaned into his gloved hands. And the dog didn’t protest one but as he brought the ghost into his arms.

Both of their cores were pulsing, in something akin to a mutual understanding.

He heald Laika for a while longer. Danny tried not to cry in Space. His tears had the terrible habit of freezing in his eyes and it was often a painful ordeal.

Still, the tears came.

[advocatewrites-blog]

Into the Unknown Part 3 Chapter 2

Into the Unknown

Fandom: Undertale, Coraline (book), Over the Garden Wall, Paranorman, Gravity Falls (season 2)

Characters: Frisk, Norman B., Dipper P., Mabel P., Coraline J., Wirt, Greg, the Cat, the Frog; Sans, Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Asgore,; the Other Mother, the Beast, Agatha P., Bill Cipher, Asriel D., Chara D.,

Pairings: Not the focus. Alphys/Undyne, with mentions of Papyrus/Mettaton, sans/Toriel/Asgore, and Wirt/Sara. Due to the nature of Undertale and the dating segments, there is also interpretable Papyrus/Wirt, Undyne/Mabel, Alphys/Dipper, Napstablook/Norman, Mettaton/Norman, Mettaton/Mabel, Sans/Dipper, Sans/Norman, and Sans/Greg.

Rated a high +K for violence, mild language, horrific elements that may be disturbing to younger readers,  mentions of child abuse and bullying, character death that is sometimes permanent, and mentions of suicide that may be triggering. These elements remain relatively unchanged from their source material, which most all are for children, but discretion is advised nonetheless.

Disclaimer: Undertale was created and owned by Toby Fox. Coraline was created by Neil Gaiman and owned by Bloomsbury and Laika. Over the Garden Wall was created by Patrick McHale and owned by Cartoon Network. Paranorman was created by Sam Fell and Chris Butler and owned by Laika. Gravity Falls was created by Alex Hirsch and owned by Disney. Any other work mentioned or homage are property of their respective owners. This is a fan-made, nonprofit work that only seeks to entertain. Please support the original franchises.

Start from beginning / Previous chapter / Next chapter

Chapter 2

It became clear quickly that Mrs. Babcock was not the only ghost in Blithe’s Hollow. Just stepping out the door, Frisk found themselves in a world of people surrounding in green auras. Most were human. Most wore the signs they carried with them when they died, from skin worn with age or necks still connected to the nooses that hung them. All saw Frisk staring at them and greeted them with a smile and a handshake, especially as Mrs. Babcock approached them.

Most also saw Mrs. Babcock and changed their tone to the kind adults used when they though children couldn’t hear them. Mrs. Babcock responded back and changed her tone to the kind adults used when they were done discussing something and wanted to end the conversation as politely as possible. There was only one person Mrs. Babcock bothered to stop and have a conversation with.  It was another ghost that probably was as old as Mrs. Babcock when she died, but her body was far more wrung and frail.

Frisk did not pay attention to the entire conversation. They changed their tone to the kind adults use and children recognize as not worth their time to eavesdrop. Besides, they had found a ghost dog.

There was a skeleton outside the door of the Ruins. This did not surprise Norman as much as he thought it would. Skeletons were more likely to be monsters than flowers or goats. The skeleton was not as scary as he should be, either. No cracks in the skull, or guts spilling from the ribcage…he was even wearing a turtleneck underneath his hoodie.

The skeleton monster actually seemed to be more surprised by Norman than Norman was of him. A world of emotions passed behind the skeleton’s rather expressive eyesockets before Norman could really put together what he was seeing. By the time Norman found himself able to talk again, the skeleton had beat him to it.

“just one of you this time, huh?”

“Uh…yes?”

“great. let’s see if we can’t get one of those other lamps to work for ya.”

In a lot of ways, Frisk could understand why Monsterkind held the Dump in such high regard. After all, where else would the anime end up? It was the only way they had left to see what was happening on the Surface.

What they could not understand was how one managed to live in a house and a dump simultaneously. Even the old house by Blook Acres was in better condition than the one Mrs. Babcock led them to. It sat on the edge of town, far enough away that nobody would think to find it. It barely stood on its own; wood beams falling off and tarps replaced roofing.

Mrs. Babcock appeared to have the same reservations Frisk did. She appeared for just her moment to wrinkle her nose at the things she could not smell, before looking down at Frisk and giving them an encouraging nod.

Frisk summoned their determination and knocked on the door.

There was an audible thud as the occupant jumped at the sound.

“Who’s there!” A grizzle voice called from inside. “I’m warning you, I already withstood a hummus attack! I’m made of steel!”

“Calm down, John, it’s just us!” said Mrs. Babcock.

There was a moment of silence. The door creaked open. Two bright blue eyes, virturally hidden under thick black eyebrows, stared at the two.

“Elaine,” the occupant said. “Never thought you’d be here.”

“Well, never thought I would need to come in,” said Mrs. Babcock. “Now would you let us in? We’ll catch our death out here.”

The eyes drifted down to Frisk. “And what’s that?”

Frisk waved.

“I literally just had a stroke; I don’t have time for this…thing!”

“Listen,” said Mrs. Babcock. “I know how you feel about me, but you’re the only one left who can help them out. I mean look at them! They’re not even Norman’s age yet!”

The blue eyes focused on Frisk closer. The door swung open, revealing the face and body attached. The occupant looked just as old and ghastly as Mrs. Babcock did. The only thing that stopped Frisk from thinking he was a ghost was the lack of green air about him.

“They can see you,” said the man.

“Yes,” said Mrs. Babcock. “We don’t know how yet, but it has to do something with Norman.”

“And where is Norman?” The man asked.

Mrs. Babcock fell silent at that. Both eyes were on Frisk.

Frisk signed gone with a hesitant shrug.

The man looked towards Mrs. Babcock for confirmation.

“Whatever they did to end up here, they think it sent Norman back,” said Mrs. Babcock. “We need your help.”

The man stopped his staring only to dissolve in a fit of coughs that did not sound like they were natural. “I don’t have any time left. If Norman’s gone…then you’ll do.”

Frisk found themself being pulled up into the air and carried into the house. They were put on a desk before they could complain. A book was thrust into their arms.

“At sunset tonight, take this to the place where the Witch is buried,” The man collapsed into another coughing fit. He fell to the floor, and then he stopped moving altogether.

Before they could move, a fog of green formed where the man had stood.

“Ya got that, kid?” The man asked.

Frisk nodded.

“Good! The world’s counting on you! I’m free!”

The house lit up as the ghost of Mr. Prenderghast laid itself to rest.

When monsters died, their bodies turned to dust. Their souls shattered. There was no real mess to have to take care of. Frisk wished they did not know that.

Humans were different. They realized that as they stared at the body.

“He’s the groundskeeper for the cemetery; he’s bound to have made some sort of arrangement,” said Mrs. Babcock, though Frisk could tell she was mostly talking to herself. “You shouldn’t have to be the one to call him in, kid. They’ll find him eventually.”

Frisk had not thought of that yet. Their attention was on the book that had been shoved in their arms. It was even older than the man, and resembled more one of the books Aunti Whispers had. They opened it up, and were surprised to find illustrations inside. Gorgeous pictures, only slightly diminished by the age of the book, of princes and princesses. The page showed the most signs of use, with dog-eared corners and notes scribbled in runes and chicken-scratch notes that Frisk could not read if they tried. It took Frisk some time to figure out the fancy calligraphy of the title: The Tale of Sleeping Beauty.

They switched the book for the notebook and asked Mrs. Babcock where the cemetery was.

“YOU’VE TAUGHT ME A LOT, HUMAN. I HEREBY GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH! “ said Papyrus. “AND I’LL GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO THE SURFACE! CONTINUE FORWARD UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN. THEN, WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITOL, CROSS THE BARRIER. THAT’S THE MAGICAL SEAL TRAPPING US ALL UNDERGROUND. ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT…EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL.”

“Like me?” Norman asked.

“ LIKE YOU!!!” said Papyrus. “THAT’S WHY THE KING WANTS TO AQUIRE A HUMAN. HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER. THEN US MONSTERS CAN RETURN TO THE SURFACE! OH, I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU…

“TO CROSS THE BARRIER, YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS…THROUGH THE KING’S CASTLE. THE KING OF ALL MONSTERS…ASGORE DREEMURR.”

A chill ran up Norman’s back, and he was sure it was not because of the chill of Snowdin. Papyrus’ tone had shifted in a way Norman did not think possible from the happy skeleton.

“HE’S…WELL…HE’S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER!” said Papyrus. “EVERYBODY LOVES THAT GUY! I AM CERTAIN IF YOU JUST SAY…’EXCUSE ME, MR. DREEMURR, CAN I PLEASE GO HOME?’ HE’LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF! ANYWAY!!! THAT’S ENOUGH TALKING!!! I’LL BE AT HOME BEING A COOL FRIEND!!!”

Papyrus moved back towards his house in a pattern Norman could not describe with words, laughing along the way. It took Norman a bit longer to process what Papyrus had said and move again.

He would have to fight the King of All Monsters. He was willing to bet it would not be as easy as Papyrus had been.

The new area started abruptly, like he had just stepped into a doorway into another room. It was vastly different than Snowdin, with bare cave walls and an uncomfortable humidity that had him tugging at his jacket.

“hey kid.”

Sans sat at another checkpoint station that looked remarkably like his old one, even down to the snow on the roof. For just a moment, Norman tried to figure out why it was there and how it hadn’t melted yet.

“thinkin’ of headin’ to grillby’s. wanna join me?”

Norman was about to decline when he realized the last decent thing he had to eat was the Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie, and that was a long time ago. If he was going to get close to the King of All Monsters, he would have to eat something.

“Uh, sure…”

“great. c’mon, i know a shortcut.”

It did not really feel like it took them long to get to the cemetery. It felt a lot longer to Frisk.

The Cat was there waiting for them. He rushed to Frisk in a move that looked a lot more like he wanted to get his paws off the damp earth rather than greet them, growled at Mrs. Babcock as the specter took shape, and jumped up onto Frisk’s shoulders. Never once did he speak. Frisk was not sure if they should expect him to, since he only spoke when there was no one else to listen, but it was strange nonetheless. They would have preferred another voice.

It did not take them long to find the graves that Mr. Prenderghast was talking about. It was sunset, time to read the story.

They opened up to the book to the heavily marked paged and looked up. What were they supposed to do? Read it aloud? They knew their voice was not going to work, even if they tried.

“What is it that you’re doing?” The Cat asked.

They didn’t exactly have time to explain. They held the book up for him the way they would their notebook.

“I really don’t read your language unless it’s you trying to say something,” said the Cat. “And I would prefer not to unless you tell me what’s going on.”

Frisk turned around. Mrs. Babcock was not there to read it for them.

The sun dipped below the horizon, and sets of skeletal hands shot from the ground.

Norman was not entirely sure how they had gotten to the bar, only that they were as they turned the corner.

“pretty neat shortcut, huh?” sans asked.

Norman did not have time to answer. Everyone in the bar had taken to greeting sans. He followed sans sheepishly towards the bar and took one of the stools.

“so what sounds good, kid?”

“Uh…a burger?”

“alright. grillz, two orders of burg.”

The bartender, who looked like his entire body was made of fire, gave the two a scrutinizing look before disappearing into the back.

“so, kid…”

The atmosphere of the bar grew heavy.

“do you know anything about a talking flower?”

Author’s Note: I am unusually proud of that anime line. That is the best thing I have ever written.

[sleepy-writes-stuff]

(short continuation to the prompt I wrote, which is linked below. I thought I was done with this, but then @victoria-has-no-secret and @bluerosefox had some ideas to incorporate into it. Screenshots of said ideas are also below but are sprinkled throughout the post too.)

(*) = Me building off of other ideas

TW: mentions of animal death

← previous

✦

After the whole fiasco with the Justice League, Danny gets an idea. Not very many people actually know about Laika, at least from what he could see of the majority of the Justice League who had never learned about her. Although, to be fair, a lot of them come from different planets. Either way, it gives Danny the idea to create a YouTube channel starring Laika to teach the people of Earth about the pup.

The channel immediately garners attention from all around the world, and even winds up on a couple of news stations too! It grows so much that Danny decides to expand further than just Laika, but to the other things that were sent into space in the quest for knowledge: The space rovers as well as many other animals.

Laika even leads Danny to them as he ventures further into space with a specially made camera that can withstand traversing space and the differing atmosphereic conditions of other planets. He manages to find every single one of them, discovering that maybe Laika hadn't been as alone as he'd first thought as he watches and records her playing with the spirits (imprints?) of the rovers, chimps, mice, and many other animals haunting the endless void of the cosmos.

People back on earth are going wild with the knowledge that their hopes, thoughts, and feelings helped to give life to beings that had long been dead/stopped working. They have no idea what to feel about this new information except an amalgamation of pure awe, curiosity, joy, guilt, and sadness. They still mourned the loss of Laika, the rovers, and everyone before and after them, but knowing that their existence wasn't completely lost soothed an ache many didn't know they carried with them when they were there to witness the beginning of such astronomical leaps in technology.

To also know that out of the many stars shooting across the sky, one of them might be Laika happily racing amongst the stars with her friends brought many to tears. At every opportunity, they wished for the sweet pup's happiness and the continuing health of their own furry companions down on Earth with them. They also wished that upon the eventuality that they have to part with their companions that maybe a few of them would join Laika and her friends in stars to keep them company for many years to come.

Although many of these wishes were heard by Desiree, she refused to touch such hopeful and well-meaning wishes for fear of twisting them in unseemly ways, allowing them to form on their own. The other ghosts among Danny's rouges even made a deal with each other to not interfere or attack the town when Danny was recording his videos out in space.

It was beyond bad manners to interfere with another ghost's obsession, after all.

✦

I'm gonna go cry some more. I've learned more about the progress of space exploration in the past couple hours than I probably should. This is the last thing I'm adding onto this prompt. If any of y'all wanna continue it, be my guest!

Notes:

(*) One more thing to add. Where are the ghost hunters/Guys in White during all of this? If they start making a fuss over Phantom and all the ghost animals, do they get a bunch of civilians raiding their government facilities and causing them bodily harm? What's happening with the Justice League? Are they sitting back and eating popcorn while all this goes down? Who knows. :)

[ismaileko]

8 Dogs Who Were Famous Before The Internet Was Invented

It looks like everyone’s dog features a dog Instagram account today, but dogs are going viral for many years. Here are eight great canines are known and loved the planet over before the web was a thing.

Rin Tin Tin

This German shepherd (and there are several on this list) was discovered on a battlefield in France during the primary war by an American soldier who took the dog home with him and trained him to act in silent movies. He ended up making almost 30 films over his lifetime and, consistent with Hollywood legend, saved Warner Brothers studio from bankruptcy before talking movies were even invented. He even has his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Hachiko

In the 1920s, a Japanese Akita named Hachiko was so faithful that he would meet his master, Professor Ueno, at the Shibuya railway station every evening and walk him to the train the morning. The professor had a sudden attack at work and died. Hachiko waited for him to urge off the train, and when he didn’t, Hachiko came back to satisfy the subsequent day’s train. He continued to try to do this a day for nearly ten years. This dog didn’t get a star, but he did get a statue at the railway station and therefore the love of the entire nation.

Hachiko | 8 Dogs Who Were Famous Before the web Was Invented | Life360 Tips

Checkers

Famous as a part of one among the most important political speeches of all time, Checkers was an English cocker spaniel belonging to then-Senator Nixon. During his campaign as Eisenhower’s presidential campaigner in 1952, Nixon was accused of accepting private donations, which was an enormous no-no some time past. because it happens, one among those donations was this dog to Nixon’s daughter Julie. Nixon went on national television and delivered what’s mentioned as “The Checkers Speech,” during which a candidate averted disaster by deflecting the error, saying in essence, “But the youngsters love this dog, does one need me to require it far away from them?” — and he won the vice presidency. Although Checkers is well-remembered as Nixon’s dog, he gave up the ghost in 1964, four years before Nixon himself was elected president.

Old Drum

This hound became famous only after his death, but he became a logo for dogs everywhere. In 1869, An attorney named George Graham Vest took the case of a dog who was shot by a neighbor. The owner sued for damages and Vest’s closing arguments referred to as “Eulogy to a Dog” and including the phrase “Man’s ally,” managed to make a legal precedent regarding how dogs are viewed in court matters. Vest won the case, and later became a U.S. senator; a bust of the dog is within the Missouri Supreme Court building in Jefferson City.

Old Drum | 8 Dogs Who Were Famous Before the web Was Invented | Life360 Tips

Balto

The world’s most famous sled dog, Balto was a part of a life-saving team in 1925 that made a 650-mile trek during a blizzard to deliver diphtheria serum from Nome to Anchorage, Alaska in only 5 days. an equivalent route is that the Iditarod Trail — and therefore the famous dog sled race was created in honor of this historic run. There’s a statue of Balto in New York’s Central Park and his taxidermied remains are displayed within the Cleveland Museum of explanation.

Buddy

You may not know this German shepherd but you recognize what she inspired. In 1928, a 20-year-old named Morris Frank, blind for four years, acquired a dog in Switzerland that had been specially trained to steer the blind. ahead of incredulous reporters, he crossed a dangerously busy street referred to as Death Avenue with the dog leading him safely to the opposite side. Buddy was the primary seeing-eye dog within the U.S. Six months later, Frank founded the Seeing Eye organization to coach dogs to help humans.

Buddy | 8 Dogs Who Were Famous Before the web Was Invented | Life360 Tips

Laika

Back in 1957, the space race was underway; after successfully launching Sputnik 1, the Soviets chose a former stray mutt named Laika to be the primary life being embarked on orbit. Unfortunately, the launch was a one-way trip. The official story was that she was euthanized by remote after six days in orbit but the reality was she died just a couple of hours after launch thanks to high temperatures. But her short flight did pave the way for future crewed missions.

Pompey

The oldest entry during this list may be a pug dog belonging to William, Prince of Orange, within the 16th century. “William The Silent” was nearly assassinated while in France; Spanish insurgents tried to enter his tent in the dark during a campaign, but his dog woke him up by jumping on his face. The dog was honored by being immortalized next to the prince on his tomb at the church of St. Ursula in Delft, Netherlands.

[firework-artist]

This shot is my favourite out of the whole animation! This is the sequence that was inspired by the memories recalled in Watership Down, with the close-up of a rabbit ghost’s eye. This time it’s Laika’s eye as she boards the Sputnik, opening to reflect a vivid image of the Earth spiralling distant. Yes, I realise that Laika would not have been able to see outside from her place, but this is a dynamic and visually interesting shot that I wanted to take some artistic liberty with.

The Process

There were several main layers: the eyeball, the skin/fur/eyelid around the eye, and the details of hair. I animated the eyeball’s movement with tweens for smooth movement that could be accelerated and decelerated easily. The rest of it was hand-drawn. The hairs had so many small details that it became difficult to draw over and over, but the end result was worth it. I added a vignette-like shadow effect around the edges to make it look more three-dimensional.

After exporting this shot, I used the qualifier tool in DaVinci Resolve to key out the green and add in the rotating Earth as another layer below, so it looked like it was coming from the eyeball.

[hachych]

7 Dogs Who Were Famous Before The Internet Was Invented

It looks like everyone’s dog features a dog Instagram account today, but dogs are going viral for many years. Here are eight great canines are known and loved the planet over before the web was a thing. Rin Tin Tin This German shepherd (and there are several on this list) was discovered on a battlefield in France during the primary war by an American soldier who took the dog home with him 

and trained him to act in silent movies. He ended up making almost 30 films over his lifetime and, consistent with Hollywood legend, saved Warner Brothers studio from bankruptcy before talking movies were even invented. He even has his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Hachiko In the 1920s, a Japanese Akita named Hachiko was so faithful that he would meet his master, Professor Ueno, at the Shibuya railway station every evening and walk him to the train the morning. The professor had a sudden attack at work and died. Hachiko waited for him to urge off the train, and when he didn’t, Hachiko came back to satisfy the subsequent day’s train. He continued to try to do this a day for nearly ten years. This dog didn’t get a star, but he did get a statue at the railway station and therefore the love of the entire nation. Checkers Famous as a part of one among the most important political speeches of all time, Checkers was an English cocker spaniel belonging to then-Senator Nixon. During his campaign as Eisenhower’s presidential campaigner in 1952, Nixon was accused of accepting private donations, which was an enormous no-no some time past. because it happens, one among those donations was this dog to Nixon’s daughter Julie. Nixon went on national television and delivered what’s mentioned as “The Checkers Speech,” during which a candidate averted disaster by deflecting the error, saying in essence, “But the youngsters love this dog, does one need me to require it far away from them?” — and he won the vice presidency. Although Checkers is well-remembered as Nixon’s dog, he gave up the ghost in 1964, four years before Nixon himself was elected president. Old Drum This hound became famous only after his death, but he became a logo for dogs everywhere. In 1869, An attorney named George Graham Vest took the case of a dog who was shot by a neighbor. The owner sued for damages and Vest’s closing arguments referred to as “Eulogy to a Dog” and including the phrase “Man’s ally,” managed to make a legal precedent regarding how dogs are viewed in court matters. Vest won the case, and later became a U.S. senator; a bust of the dog is within the Missouri Supreme Court building in Jefferson City. Balto The world’s most famous sled dog, Balto was a part of a life-saving team in 1925 that made a 650-mile trek during a blizzard to deliver diphtheria serum from Nome to Anchorage, Alaska in only 5 days. an equivalent route is that the Iditarod Trail — and therefore the famous dog sled race was created in honor of this historic run. There’s a statue of Balto in New York’s Central Park and his taxidermied remains are displayed within the Cleveland Museum of explanation. Buddy, You may not know this German shepherd but you recognize what she inspired. In 1928, a 20-year-old named Morris Frank, blind for four years, acquired a dog in Switzerland that had been specially trained to steer the blind. ahead of incredulous reporters, he crossed a dangerously busy street referred to as Death Avenue with the dog leading him safely to the opposite side. Buddy was the primary seeing-eye dog within the U.S. Six months later, Frank founded the Seeing Eye organization to coach dogs to help humans. Laika Back in 1957 the space race was underway; after successfully launching Sputnik 1, the Soviets chose a former stray mutt named Laika to be the primary life being embarked on orbit. Unfortunately, the launch was a one-way trip. The official story was that she was euthanized by remote after six days in orbit but the reality was she died just a couple of hours after launch thanks to high temperatures. But her short flight did pave the way for future crewed missions.

[all-bloody-inspired]

So I was thinking of that “Moon’s haunted” post.

And what if it is?

What if the space around our planet is haunted by everyone that died on our way there?

The Challenger crew plays fetch with Laika among the stars.

The crew of Apollo I raised a glass when their colleagues landed in the Sea of Tranquility in 1969.

The crews of Soyuz 1 and Soyuz 11 wander around the ISS, marveling at how far we’ve all come, and those that never got off the ground, who died in training, are present at every launch, while the Columbia crew watches NASA prepare for Mars.

And all the machines that wore down or became obsolete, from Sputnik to Opportunity, follow the Hubble telescope across galaxies.

So yeah, the moon is haunted. But it’s haunted by Grissom and McAuliffe and Komarov.

It’s okay. They’re friendly ghosts.

[ualkac164]

Puppet making

For the new unit at my university I decided to design and make a puppet based on animated movie - Coraline. 

You might find many similar fairy tales across the internet.  “The other children the beldam took” was one of them that I found. The fairy tales are basically telling the same Coraline Jones story however, through other kids eyes. 

I love Laika and all of the characters that they create. So I decided to go with the same style of the puppet.

In the movie these three characters were called ghost children and they were never shown as alive kids. 

The script describes these characters as: the sweet girl, the tall girls and the sad boy. 

My aim is to bring the sweet girls character to life as it was before she became a ghost. I will try to bring back to life a sweet soul, colorful clothes and happy facial expressions.