#larocca

[cherrybitezz]

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ im just a girl ⋆. 𐙚 ˚

[clcmentines]

blood dripping down my throat, isn't it lovely?

fruit, azra t / he who is good with swords, fatimah asghar / the becoming of noah shaw, michelle hodkin / it's a circus and we're all paid to be here, ashe vernon / things have gotten worse since we last spoke, eric larocca / aaron o'hanlon

[cameraworker]

🔥 La Rocca on Fire 🔥 ✂️ ✂️ ✂️ @wimlarocca @svenvaeth_official #LaRocca #aftermovie #CameraWorks #Becausewecam #svenvath #showreel #videoproducer #tv #tvedits #videoproductions #video #director #editor #editing #motiongraphics #musicvideo #music #filming #filmmaking #film #set #commercial #company #camera #aftermovie (bij CameraWorks) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkgPpUXMLDF/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[brokehorrorfan]

Artwork from Gallery 1988’s "Smorgasbord" exhibit celebrating pop culture foods is available online. It includes eight genre-related pieces:

Cereal killers by Steve Chesworth

The Nightmare Before Christmas by Kevin Tiernan

Trick 'r Treat by Kevin Tiernan

Ghostbusters by Kate Cosgrove

Scooby-Doo by Paige McMorrow

Fallout by Doug LaRocca

Fallout by Ashly Lovett

Cap'n Crunch by Shane Houston

[bartskull]

consumption (or lack of) as an expression of love

(the gun song, car seat headrest / bones and all, 2022 / things have gotten worse since we last spoke, eric larocca / beach life-in-death, car seat headrest / bones and all, 2022 / famous last words, ethel cain / things have gotten worse since we last spoke, eric larocca / the gun song, car seat headrest)

[star-girlfriend]

teeth

sylvia plath poem for a birthday: who // brenna twohy little red riding hood adresses the next wolf // unknown // henry aarrestad uldalen caries // blythe baird if my body could speak // richard siken little beast // sean glatch caffeine, pt. 1 // clementine von radics desire // unknown // eric larocca things have gotten worse since we last spoke

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Corporate Body

RA Busby: Submitted for the approval of the midnight society, i call this the tale of the corporate body Busby: so this guy volunteers for a drug study Busby: run by a not-at-all shady corporation Busby: called drugco Busby: that's just a placeholder name, i'll probably go back and change it

Busby: this guy needs money Busby: cuz time are tough, you know Busby: with the economy Busby: and covid Busby: that modern millenial experience Busby: you kids know

Busby: so they try a new experimental surgery on him Busby: The first phase is hallucinogenic Busby: the second phase is glandular Busby: and the third phase is Busby: BODY MELT!!

Busby: so they put a big gooey thing inside him Busby: using a giant ovipositor Busby: you know, just shoving it up in there Busby: right in there Busby: good and deep Clive Barker: yes yes good

Busby: now he's got these big gross bubules growing all over him Barker: haha gross haha Busby: yeah they're pretty gross haha Busby: they're like Busby: like joyce carol oates' foot gross

Busby: man have you ever thought about being pregnant Busby: it's pretty fucked up Busby: first, you gotta have this thing inside you right? Busby: and then Busby: what if the baby is weird?

Poe: what do you mean "weird?" Busby: you know, like weird Busby: like what if the baby has bad vibes Busby: or it could be like a monster Busby: could be a worm

Busby: so now this guy is pregnant with worms Busby: you ever think about being pregnant Busby: with worms? Eric LaRocca: oh yeah yeah all the time

LaRocca: check it out, here's a photo of my worm baby Busby: he's lovely Busby: he has your clitellum

LaRocca: yeah we have a little playgroup LaRocca: you know, me and the other worm dads David Cronenberg: its good for our worm babies to get enrichment Barker: i would die for my worm baby Barker: i would kill for my worm baby

Poe: oh yeah that whole worm baby thing Poe: i forgot that was a running gag for a while Poe: great time to bring it back Poe: people will definitely remember Barker: well we already brought back joyce carol oates' foot so

[jewishcissiekj]

Back on my Star Wars comics bullshit. Doctor Aphra (2016) Vol. 3 (posted very little about Aphra here before but I was reading this so).

Hey I have to say something I understand Magna Tolvan I truly do but she's sooooo down bad for a girl who introduced herself as Joystick Chevron. I know you work for for the Empire but for the love of god have some self respect

No self-preservation skills only lesbianism good for them

Oh they're so stupid. I have to stan

OH MY GODDDD GENERAL HERA SYNDULLA IS IN THE BUILDING I MUST EXPLODE INTO A BAZILLION PIECES

Doctor Aphra has been on the toxic yuri train for years now I should've continued her comics a long time ago

Kanan Jarrus can you fi- oh right

What the fuck is wrong with her. I understand why Sana, Magna and Eustacia had any intrest in her

I do have something to say. I always do. that (aphra) should be me

Oh my god they're insane I need 50 more comic series of them 3 book trilogies and at least one movie

Joystick Chevron<3

Doctor Aphra (2016) #15-19

[chai-and-cherries]

5 Insanely Underrated (Dark) Queer Book Recs for Your TBR (No Spoiler Reviews!)

I ain’t gonna beat around the bush, folks--this post has been a long time coming. Over the past year, I have somehow stumbled into my new favorite genre, leaving the careful days of YA comforting fantasy reads behind (but not forgotten!). I used to never be one for the dark, grisly, and not so man-made horrors beyond comprehension. But with the help of time, mind devouring storytelling, and gut wrenching emotions the world loves to carve out of us all, tastes have changed! So without further ado, let me recommend 5 of my favorite (darker) queer reads of 2022. Titles are linked to official Goodreads summaries while I have included my no-spoiler reviews below.

Some of these are horror, some fantasy, some tragedy, and most a mix of the above. As the new year draws closer, if you’re feeling ready to branch out (or branch in!!) please consider giving these severely underrated titles a read. And support lesser known authors while you’re at it!

As the title of the post implies, these books tend to brew darker than your average cup ‘a joe. So please heed included trigger warnings and take care! 

1. You Will Love What You Have Killed by Kevin Lambert

(Original title: Tu aimeras ce que tu as tué. English Translation by Winkler Donald).

Genres: Adult Fiction, Horror, Canadian Literature, Queer AF

Review: If you’re not a fan of blood, gore, and every horror under the dying sun, scroll away now. Starting off incredibly strong and incredibly twisted with French-Canadian Lambert’s debut novel, You Will Love What You Have Killed, this novel is neither for the faint of heart nor some of the hard of heart. I went into this book knowing next to nothing about what was in store and left somehow feeling more empty than before. As arguably the darkest and most gory book on the list, this surrealist take on childhood rage and post-humous revenge on the town that discarded you before you had a chance to fight back is bound to haunt you long after you’ve finished it. Lambert’s own style of dark and nauseatingly twisted humor will either seal the deal for you, or leave you running for the hills. To be honest, I loathe this book as much I appreciate the queer, surrealist landscape of apocalyptic vengeance. Brownie points for being flat-out strange.

Content Warnings: if you can think of it, chances are its here. loads of death and murder, including that of children, suicide; ableism; homophobia, transphobia; pedophilia, rape, sexual abuse, explicit sexual descriptions, abortion, necrophilia; animal abuse, killing of animals; child abuse, emotional abuse and verbal abuse (by the narrator); cancer; 9/11 (comprehensive list via Ashton on GoodReads)

2. Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

Genres: YA Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi/Dystopian, Queer AF

Blurb: In this world on the brink of man-made/god-induced apocalypse, trans-boy Benji has to fight not only to survive a hellscape determined to burn itself to the ground, but also his own role in bringing about the End. Hell Followed With Us is a queer rage manifesto, the gospel for those forced to become monsters by the same society that weaponized and then condemned them for being such. White’s novel not only brought healing to a large part of my own religious trauma, but it helped me embrace the very “monster” the so called righteous would have damned. Because when the world will villianize you anyway, revolution may very well be embracing the monster within--the monster the world forced into being. This one is definitely a keeper, and definitely a re-reader. The character diversity in this book is incredible, also for the simple fact that it isn’t forced or seemingly “trying to meet a quota”, and for canonically calling out [redacted].  

Content Warnings: For a comprehensive list courtesy of the author himself, please visit his website here. 

3. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

Genres: Adult Fiction, Horror/Psychological Thriller, Short-Stories, Queer AF

Blurb: Shorter but no less impactful than the rest, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is a twisted foray into the psychology of human obsession. After reading the blurb, I tried to prepare myself for the following unease and depravity I was promised. And god was that promise delivered on a silver poisoned platter. Set to the backdrop of chat forums and online messaging, LaRocca weaves a sadomasochistic love story between two women searching for deeper connection. But love isn’t exactly the right word, is it? After all, things can only get worse from the start. Suffice to say, wholesome does not live in these pages. And I need more. 

Content Warnings: animal cruelty/death, body horror, gore, mental/emotional abuse, exploration of kink, very toxic example of a dom/sub relationship.

4. Angels Before Man by Rafael Nicolás

Genres: Adult Fantasy, Mythology Retelling, Romance, Paranormal, Queer AF

Blurb: I try not to pick favorites on list recs, but as my most recent read of the year, Nicolás’ debut novel has quickly been shelved in my mind and heart’s hall of fame. Angels Before Man is a queer retelling of the fall of Lucifer from a paradise that may not be as, well, paradise as it seems. With narrative prose so poetic that epics of the ancient world come to mind, and themes of religious rebellion and queer rage reminiscent not only of other novels on this list but also the lives of countless individuals whose love warns at revolution, Angels Before Man tells the story of the greatest disobedience Heaven had to face: the creation of sin, born from the first love that turned a jealous god to rage. As ABM only released weeks ago, I sincerely hope it’s only the beginning for this book and author. Bible? Who needs her. The Word of God? I don’t even know her. I’ve got Angels Before Man. And so will my friends because I’m gifting them this heavenly-gem (heh, see what I did there?) for the holidays. 

Content Warnings: Courtesy of the author himself (list also included at start of book): Blasphemy, off-page sexual assault with related internal monologue post-incident, Self-harm, Atypical depiction of grooming, Animal death, Abuse (emotional, physical), Sexual content, Body horror, Graphic depictions of violence, Incestuous term use, Potential correlation to homosexuality being sinful, Depictions of mental instability

5. Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Magic Realism, Queer AF

Blurb: Of the 5 recs on the list, I have to be honest and say with full disclosure that this is my one cheat as I have not actually finished it yet. But as I can attest from the 60% progress I have made, along with two of my close friends who recommended her in the first place, Siren Queen is a breath of fresh air in a genre that is understandably stifling at times. Interweaving the monstrous industry of Hollywood with actual monsters, Siren Queen explores the sacrifices made and prices paid for the chance at stardom and just being seen, all while embracing the monster society demands of us. Largely character-driven, this book has been a slower read than the rest, but its commentary on workers’ rights and inequalities, among other social issues often at the forefront of WASPish-run Hollywood, has kept me engaged since the start. 

Content Warnings: racism, racial slurs, fatphobia, violence, family violence, homophobia, sexism, drug abuse, addiction.

[varian-ross-horror-author]

Everything The Darkness Eats, A Blind Perspective

I keep thinking about Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca.

Specifically, how the GoodReads reviews screamed about how Problematic one of the side characters--a blind child--was.

I'm stumped as to how a character haveing cataracts makes them Bad Representation. I can *kind of* understand a kneejerk response to a character always covering their eyes, but y'all.

There's a big difference between "character covers their eyes because their eyes are scary looking" and "character covers their eyes because light is painful."

I'm blind myself, and have extreme levels of light sensitivity. What little vision I have is like looking at the world through a thick pane of frosted glass. Wearing some level of tinted lenses is the only way I can tolerate light these days. My family knows how my vision is day to day by how dark my glasses are.

The instant I met Piper in Everything the Darkness Eats, I braced myself. Blind characters in horror usually don't fare well, wether at the hands of the monster or the author.

While we never get anything from Piper's point of view, she instantly reminded me of myself at that age. I was both surprised and delighted for her that she had a white cane--I didn't get my first cane until I was a senior in high school.

We *do* get a perspective from Piper's mother. At which point I paused the audiobook to cry at just how accurate it was to growing up as blind with family who desperately want you to be "normal."

I found myself looking from the reviews to my book and back, wondering if we were reading the same thing. While the reviews were shrieking about Problematic characters and tropes, I was listening to one of the best horror novels I'd heard in ages.

Not only a novel with fantastic characters and premise, but with an actual happy ending. In a splatterpunk novel.

The reviews had me braced for awfulness, instead I was in tears at finding a story that resonated so deeply with my own vision loss.

Taking a single aspect of a disabled character--like a blind character covering their eyes--and using that one thing to judge an entire book as Problematic says more about the reviewer than the book itself.

[romanticbroadcast]

I think there’s a small, quiet part of you that enjoys the misery I carefully feed you each day—as if it were the very thing keeping you alive.

— Eric Larocca, You’ve Lost a Lot of Blood

[themichigami]

How it started vs How its going. I decided to copy over the lineart stage of the cloth poster project I sized up from the comic coverart onto a plain shirt and painted it with acrylics mixed with a fabric paint medium. I quickly discovered that the cat has had enough of my shenanigans and he tried to lay on the face while it was still wet, causing the eyebrows to smudge and bleed and the more I tried to fix it the worse it looked, so this version just has a derpy eyebrow now, I give up. This is as done as it's getting. There may still be a final version of the poster size made later for my wall with some corrections and improvements, but for now this version can hang on my wall after surviving a day out of wearing at the local comicon this weekend and I'll be happy with it.

As always with this project, may Larroca forgive me my sins against his art for they are many and horrible, but it makes my heart happy to see this finished at least as it is.

[captain-lovelace]

I think I need to actually liveblog how annoyed Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is making me. Fucking look at this

I’m not even sure how to properly articulate the contempt I feel for this lazy lazy LAZY writing lacking even style to make up for it. “A baby is a parasite so you should get a tapeworm because we can’t have children” is the lowest effort tier of parasite OR pregnancy horror and it actually astounds me that this book is apparently consistently named as being sooooo Disturbing (TM).

[doomrichards]

DOCTOR DOOM & REED RICHARDS argue semantics. From Doctor Doom (2019) #9

[brokehorrorfan]

Artwork from Gallery 1988's "The Masters" exhibit paying tribute to Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Quentin Tarantino is available online. I've highlighted 10 pieces:

E.T. by Kate Dykstra

Jaws by Lou Pimentel

Jaws by Zita Walker

Jaws by Augie Pagan

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 by Shane Houston

Taxi Driver by Jeffrey Everett

Bram Stoker's Dracula by Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn

Jurassic Park by Chris McGuire

Jurassic Park by Doug LaRocca

The Lost World: Jurassic Park by Miranda Dressler

[myriad--starlings]

The worst thing a person can do to you after they’ve hurt you is let you live.

That’s how you truly and unmistakably destroy another human being.

I say this with some authority on the matter. ... People will always be drawn to the idea of someone succeeding and becoming something truly glorious after they’ve been ravaged, defiled, very nearly obliterated. But I can assure you there’s nothing magnificent or outstanding about it.

It is no rare, distinguished gift to survive tragedy, disaster, misfortune. ... There’s nothing glorious or wonderful about being a survivor. Those that like to hurt other people know this for a fact. ...

I've learned if you truly want to hurt someone, let them live.

— This Skin Was Once Mine, Eric LaRoca