#movie suspense and I aren't friends

[ktsumu]

my greatest pet peeve is when streaming services or apps will have an unskippable fullscreen horror movie trailer ad and i get fucking jumpscared while trying to mind my businesss

[think-like-a-poet]

Can you do yapper Max where he comes back from night out and is drunk. Reader tries to help him get ready for bed and he just tells her the most random things

Drunk yapping

Max verstappen x reader

▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰

You were seated on the couch, blanket firm in your hands as the tenth plot twist happened in your horror movie. A soft yell left your mouth by the look of a couple cut of limbs as the scene became black. The music added a high suspense to the whole movement as you wanted to look away. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to watch it alone and without Max home, you thought.

The camera moved to an abandoned staircase as the music became louder and louder. Just when a door moved open and a face came out, a knock on the moved your attention away. You paused it and got up from the couch to walk towards the door. Looking trough the eye whole you saw Daniel holding Max in his hands.

You smile as you open up the door. Max was losely hanging into Daniels side as he kept on rambling his mouth. Daniel looked a bit irritated, but his smile was as big as ever. "Hi, y/n. I am sorry if I woke you, but Max is being a pain in my ass." you laughed as you made room for Daniel to walk inside. The Australian throws Max on the couch and a loud giggle is heard from your boyfriend.

"Don't worry. I know how Max is when he has a bit too much to drink. I hope he wasn't too annoying." you walked towards the kitchen to grab two glasses of water, Daniel may be less drunk but it was clear he had something to drink too. He thanked you as you gave him a glass of water before moving to sit next to Max.

You held out the glass of water for Max to grab. Max grabs the glass of water and shoots it down his throat like a shot. He sets the glass on the table with trouble and he groans before laying his head in your lap.

Daniel laughs at his friend's antics before walking to the door, "I leave you alone. Carlos is waiting for me in the car. And no, he did not drink." you wave him goodbye and you are left alone with your drunken boyfriend.

"Did you have fun?" you move your fingers through his hair and he nods. Max looks so pretty like this. His hair is ruined and standing in every way, his cheeks are flushing red and the top buttons of his shirt are unbuttoned. He always get it hot when he drowns his third G&T of the night.

"Very, but I did miss you. No one wanted to talk to me." Max pouts and you let out a little laugh at the adoring side. "Every time I said something, they moved away."

You stood up from the couch, "You can tell them to me while we get you ready for bed." Max face lits up and he stands up next to you. He stumbles a bit over his feet and you are quick to grab him by his arms. Together you walk to the bedroom as Max begins to speak.

"There was a cat tonight. I don't know how he made it inside, but he walked up to me, so of course I had to cuddle with him. Did you know cats have 30 teeth. I accidentally moved too close to a place he didn't like and I felt his teeth and you saw like a lot. I didn't hurt, he couldn't help it. " Max rambled and you listened closely to what he said. Of course the first thing was about cats, when didn't he talk about cats?

You helped him sit down on a chair in the corner of the bedroom and walked to the dresser to grab some pajamas. " I did not know they had 30 teeth. It is a surprise you didn't take him home."

"I wanted to, but a security person grabbed it from my hands to bring it outside. I couldn't find him after." Max answered with a sad tone. You saw how he had tried to untie his shoes, but the ties were now pulled fast instead of lose. You shook your head and knelt down you untied them. Max had to keep himself from falling backwards as his eyes close from the busy night.

"People always think cats like milk, but they are actually lactose intolerant. They aren't able to digest the lactose and if they have too much they will be vomiting. Of course a little bit wouldn't hurt too much, but too much is bad for them." Max slurred over his words as you finally pulled off his shoes. "Thank you,"

"Also i read somewhere that animals can have a different time feeling then humans. Smaller animals need more time to progress the movements and time will be slower for them. Like a lizard has slower time then a cat, but a tiger would be further in time than a cat. So technical animals and humans live in different time zones."

"That's strange. That they all live in different moment of time. " you answer while pulling his shirt over his head. "Hands up," you say and Max arms shoot in the air, almost hitting your face by accident, but he is too tired to see. You laugh as you try to pull on his pajama shirt, wich you know if going to be thrown of in the middle of the night when he has it to warm.

After some time Max had finished his teeth and was now sitting on the edge of the bed while you put on your pajama. "Thank you for helping me."

"No worries." you kiss his head and he pulls you in for a hug. "Lets get some rest tonight."

[justalildumpling]

chapter 26: my soulmate

wc: 0.6k

If Jeno was going to be completely honest, he had no fucking clue what he was doing — partially due to acting upon his fight or flight response when you had mentioned the whole girlfriend ordeal. 

It wasn’t like he had never thought about making the two of you official (who was he kidding, he thought about it almost every day). But as a certified simp and part-time samoyed puppy, he wanted everything to be perfect, and if perfect meant standing on an empty beach digging up a pretty pathway and scattering rose petals for the past three hours, he would do it.

It had been around half an hour since he had texted you to come to this very specific beach — which he spent every minute anxiously fiddling with the bouquet of roses in one hand and fixing his wind-swept locks in the other. However, when he spotted your car pull up next to the boardwalk, he realised that he was not prepared for this moment, especially seeing the way your eyes sparkled as you met his gaze.

There was a little cute skip in your step as you hurriedly down the steps and to his position on the beach, your white cocktail dress dancing in the wind and the corners of your lips gradually rising as you got closer. 

Jeno could almost see the wedding arches and bells in the background, almost dropping the bouquet on the sandy surface as his hands instinctively reached out to hold you in some way.

“Jeno, what’s with all this?” You squealed, receiving the roses from his shaky grasp.

It was tranquil in that moment for the boy, with the girl of his dreams inhabiting the most beautiful smile and sharing the sweetest gaze with his little self, like all anxieties had washed away with his eyes crinkling into crescent moons and the words of “Will you accept to be my soulmate Y/N?” tumbling out of his lips without a second thought.

Your mouth parted for a split second, eyes hammering with a sense of shock and delight before a soft look adorned your face, “You finally accepted the soulmate request huh?” 

Jeno rolled his eyes, “Who says we can’t be both twin flames and soulmates?” 

You smiled, placing the bouquet on the sand before enclosing your arms around his neck, “Maybe we can test that theory,” you leaned closer into his ear, whispering the next few words, “I heard that if you kiss me and the world doesn’t blow up, we were made for each other.” 

Jeno could only chuckle, shaking his head, “You’re always full of surprises aren't you?” 

“Well, clearly you liked the suspense so now we’re here aren't we?” 

You scrunched your nose in glee, your giggles tickling his lips before he closed the gap. It almost felt like a scene out of a movie, with the waves crashing into the sand not too far into the distance and the rose petals once scattered neatly onto the path circling their figures from the wind and most importantly you, the way your laughs sounded so melodic in his ears, your perfect smile glistening in the golden sunlight and how he could finally call you his. 

Jeno didn’t vibe with chaos and unpredictability. But weirdly enough, the suspense and wrecking ball of events you had brought into his boring old life he found himself compelled to. And for the first time, he found himself agreeing with Chenle and his weird beliefs of the universe because a part of him began thinking that he had indeed found his soulmate, his other half, his twin flame.

masterlist || previous | next 

pairing: jeno x fem! reader

synopsis: chenle was convinced that his two introverted friends were destined for each other, so what does he do? bribe them to text each other of course ⎯ or alternatively, when jeno started to fall for an anonymous mutual friend of chenle's

genre: social media au, strangers to lovers, college au, FLUFF, crack

warnings: swearing

note: sorry for the delayed and short updateKAEBFOWWGBW ive been sick for the past week and been stuck in the worst writers block ever😭 but GUYSSSS the finale's next week can u believe it????

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[sketch-twentytwo]

I really enjoy drawing Krupp in the Pilkey style but I figure he needs a slightly more fleshed out design to pair with the boys.

My interpretation of Benjamin Krupp comes from the movie's characterization of him: strict, competent, and sad. Book Krupp is cartoonishly evil and TV Show Krupp (to my knowledge) is cartoonishly evil and incompetent (my friend said that he canonically cannot count or something????).

Movie Krupp is an unhappy fellow, but I never felt like he was a totally evil school principle. Sure, he cut funding to the music and arts program and yeah, the atmosphere around JHE was gloomy and oppressive (in the kids POV mind you), but it seemed like the priority was still on the kids education.

He separated George and Harold due to their shenanigans, mostly as a punishment, but that's kinda what happens when two kids are disruptive in a class; they get moved to different homerooms and aren't seated next to each other.

He also doesn't deal out punishments like detention or suspensions all willy-nilly, he waits until he has solid proof before dealing G+H their consequences. He even gives Melvin his "extra credit" which I found kind of endearing. Obviously the extra credit thing didn't mean anything to anyone except for Melvin, but Krupp still humored the kid and didn't lash out or get annoyed. IDK, that moment warmed my heart a lil.

SO, TL;DR, my characterization of Benjamin Krupp follows this mindset: he's an unhappy guy who is strict on students, but he's not unnecessarily cruel. I do think he likes to "threaten" George and Harold with detentions and separation and the like, but for all they've antagonized him, it's kinda like a bit at that point.

Certainly he is not a flawless man, but he is a man who is about to have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

[astroenchanter]

Alright so, my little game design major ass keeps getting dark premonitions of what might happen in the bachelor route. And instead of desperately trying to explain to my friend who does not play, I figure I might as well elaborate here. First off this one is just a neat horror mechanic I hope they bring back and flesh out. One of my favorite things in the OG bachelor route that I haven't seen done in other games before, but to me was supper effective was the way they had you trapped in horrifying dialogue implying things where happening to you and Daniil's responses also implying what was going on around him, to an unsettling degree. Like on day 2 when you're talking to that infected woman and she goes "I'd scream, but I don't want the children to hear..." and "I keep hearing children's voices... The girls are crying, and the boy is laughing... We mustn't scare them... Don't tell them and don't let them in here..." And when talking about her sisters: "Just... Don't kill us-don't kill them if they ask you for help... Their mind is clouded with pain... They can't even find each other... They're only praying... Don't come close to them... And step away from me too." And Daniil Has to Either tell her she's delusional or when referring to her sisters goes " Make them stop following me then! Why are they constantly at my heels? They are supposed to be lying down!" Or in the conversation with Peter on day 10 where you're having a conversation unsettlingly close to a fire and you're trying to talk Peter down from incinerating himself and get the Polyhedron blueprints, and Daniil can just keep going " Peter, this heat is intolerable. How can you stand it?" and getting ignored so that Peter can go off talking about the Polyhedron. I think that with more time if they decided to keep that element in the new bachelor route they could do that in an even more effective way, time stops during dialogue and wont start until you end it. They could use sound design or fuck with the dark backgrounds in dialogues to make you even more worried about what they're saying. Like imagine the mechanic build up of time stopping in dialogues, you're used to the format from the haruspex route, and then after a while the sound effects and visuals are making you think something is different and you read the dialogue and shit is progressively getting more and more fucked up and you can only respond with more horrifying descriptions. It could trap you in that same kind of suspense as watching a horror movie or reading a short story where you aren't able to directly impact things, but you still have input in the dialogue and have to participate, IMAGINE THE TENSION.

All I'm saying is if IPL don't use that idea, I'm stealing it if I ever get around to making a horror game after my current project.

[artaxlivs]

My Masterlist -

Featuring mostly Steddie, Winterhawk & now - Sterek 💜

Steddie (Stranger Things):

HomeSteddie Farms: Rated T - Steve and Eddie had a farm and on this farm were a bunch of critters with awesome names. Plus art by Doomcheese!

End of the Beginning: Rated T - Eddie gets a do over and finds himself in the Upsidedown with Will. Can they save everyone this time? Art by @alduade-art

Do You Hear What I Hear?: Rated T - Steve brings home a mogwai, Eddie's never been good with rules

Nobody's Baby: Rated E - Steddie Dirty Dancing AU Steve & Robin best friends, Eddie & Chrissy best friends, 80s movie campiness, light BDSM, traffic light system for dancing and sex. With art by @lexplexdraws

Like a Mythical Virgin: Rated M - Eddie finds out the hard way that feral unicorns don't chase virgins for nice reasons

Let Me Be Your Man (i want to hold your hand): Rated E - Mike gets help from Steve with making a mixtape for Will. Eddie learns that there's an art to mixtapes. mike/steve bonding, laughter, fluff, little pining, smut (You can find the podfic of this one here. Read by the amazing RattleandHum (@thirdeye1234))

Destroy the Silence (Drummer Steve) - Rated E - Steve joins the band and Eddie discovers he has a thing for competent drummers, healthy bdsm communication, laughter, fluff & smut. Art by @carcrash429 (You can find the podfic of this one here. Read by the fabulous @rufusbear)

Off the Shelf - Rated E - Stripper Steve give Eddie a private show. Eddie discovers a new kink. Modern AU, basically porn with a smidge of plot.

Screw Todd, Steve's Her (His) Daddy Now - Rated E - Steve keeps calling himself Daddy "unintentionally" and Eddie's about to lose it, light bdsm, non verbal communication, daddy kink (or is it?)

The Second Worst Trip to Mordor Ever Taken - Rated T - Steve takes the boys & Eddie to Indy to a nerd store and flirts his way into trouble, Steddie, hurt/comfort, misunderstandings

Even Flowers Have Their Dangers (Series: No One Is Alone)- Rated E - What if the tunnels turned Steve & the kids into shapeshifting wolves? S4 rewrite and my own write up of S5 but with half the party as shapeshifters, smut, graphic imagery, battle scenes

There’s Something Wrong With Steve (WIP ch2/4) - Rated M - I’m not gonna tell you, Steddie, Suspense thriller, creep factor 6/10 and climbing

Let the Music Play -Series - Rated T - The music that plays every time Steve gets Vecna’d, Stobin besties, Steddie pre relationship, hurt/comfort

An Accidental Flogging - Rated E - Steve has questions about Eddie’s kinks, Eddie would like to have answers but he’s actually a virgin, friends to lovers, Top Steve, accidental kink discovery, laughter, fluff, & smut

Drabbles that aren't full fics: Happy Summer, Steve's Thighs, i was afraid to follow, Personal Space, can you read the letter for me (Part two), Pillow Talk, Steddie First Kiss Challenge, Constellations, Artax is a New Horse, To Do List

Art made by amazing artists that goes with something I wrote (eek!): Crabs, Drummer Steve, Dirty Dancing, Homesteddie

Clint Barton Centric (Marvel):

True Colors Series (8 Parts/complete) - Rated E - Clint/Bucky: The Snap didn’t dust half the universe, it turned them into soulmates who can only see colors when they find each other, Clint & Bucky don’t mean to find each other. Almost strangers to soulmates, smut, background Steve/Natasha and others

The Case of the Missing Purple Sweatshirts - Rated T - Clint/Bucky: Someone is stealing Clint’s sweatshirts…my excuse to let Clint talk about Scooby Doo

Through the Looking Glass - Rated E - Clint/Bucky: Instead of talking, they miscommunicate themselves into being sex dungeon fuck buddies, BDSM Dungeon fic, miscommunications, learning through bad negotiations, so very much smut, background Steve/Darcy, past Clint/She Who Must Not Be Named

Something to Tweet About - Rated T - Clint/Bucky: Someone tweets a series of photos of Clint & Bucky hanging out and mutually pining, they deal with it by avoiding it obviously. friends to lovers, social media ship to lovers

A Life Well Lived - Rated T - Clint/Bucky: just a glance at Clint’s last day

Make it Permanent - Rated E - Clint/Bucky: Secret dating, hickeys and tattoos and a little bit of healthy possessiveness

And the Stockings Were Hung - Rated E - Clint/Bucky: Christmas Exchange fic, Bucky's first Christmas at the tower, fluff and smut

Porn & Prose - Rated E - Clint/Bucky: some backstage smut between Mr Bingley (Clint) and Mr Darcy (Bucky)

Bucky, Lemme Smash - Rated E - Clint/Bucky: I just wanted to turn Clint purple and use this line from that meme, smut

Both, Both is Good - Rated E - Clint/Bucky: Bucky avoids Clint until he realizes Clint has been avoiding him, fuck buddies to lovers, smut & miscommunication

The Happiest Place on Earth - Rated E - Clint/Bucky: Bucky plays Hawkeye in Disneyland because the actor who plays him is short and he’s real pissed that some guy named Clint is tall enough to play the Winter Soldier, enemies to lovers, Clint in eyeliner, smut

Three to Tango - Rated E - Clint/Bucky/Natasha: James & Natasha teach Clint’s dance class, then they invite him for private lessons. Healthy communication, smut and Clint’s self degradation

A Bird By Any Other Name (Series) - Rated E - Clint/Steve: Clint as the Winter Soldier thru WW2 & the present, hurt/comfort, mental struggles, smut

Body Count - Rated E - Clint/Steve: tumblr prompt hitman meets a sex worker, just so much smut

Friends Don’t Let Friends Wait Too Long - Rated T - Clint/Steve: Steve is too nervous to ask Clint out, Bucky’s gonna help in an helpful way. Misunderstanding, fluff, laughter, Natasha being a troll

Marvel/DC Crossovers:

Draw & Release (2 part series) - Rated E - Clint Barton/Jason Todd: Clint gets a tattoo & finds a new boyfriend/Dom

Sterek (Teen Wolf):

UNLESS - Rated T - A Fern Gullyish AU where Stiles is a fairy, Derek is a 3 inch tall werewolf and Kate is even more toxic than usual, bookbinding by @eviscer-8

Take a Glorious Bite Out of the Whole World - Rated E - Stiles has known for ten years that Derek is his soulmate, Derek didn't even know Stiles existed. Soulmates, happy ending, alive Hale family. With art by @angeleyz4ever

Lie On My Front - Rated E - Derek & Stiles find themselves trapped inside a crate in a compromising position. Porn with a teensy bit of plot

Somewhere Under the Rainbow - Rated T - Wild geese can't be bothered to catch sidekicks. Fluff, magic, leprechauns, banter

[absolutebl]

Hi, ABL!

Could you give me some show recommendations? I'm going into surgery next week and will be bedridden for a couple of weeks after that. Basically, I'll have a lot of time on my hands. What better way than to fill that time with QLs?

I like the dark Japanese stuff (Pornographer, The Shortest Distance is Round, Dangerous Drugs of Sex, etc.), high heat (Bed Friend, KinnPorsche, etc.), suspense/mystery/thriller (Manner of Death, 4 Minutes, Not Me etc.), and all the angst (I loved the angst in Unknown).

I mostly watch shows from Thailand, Japan, and Taiwan because I like their vibes (unless it's dead fish kissing, lol), but I'm open to try other countries as well.

Your expert guidance would be much appreciated.

Have an amazing day!

Best of luck with the surgery. But also, how fun to have some time to watch things!

Dark BL

(Like the Novelest et al)

High Heat BL

(Like KinnPorsche)

BL with Suspense & Mystery Elements

(Like Manner of Death)

High Angst BL

(Like Unknown)

Just for S&G here's:

Just to be on the safe side, some I'm gonna rec right away?

The Sign (heat + all the sub genres you coudl want)

Laws of Attraction (mystery, drama, ridiculousness)

The On1y One (ANGST!)

[pepa-brainrot]

Encanto Oc Appreciation week two! Relationships ✨️

@encanto-extended-edition

It's my beloved sunshine trio! I finally drew all of them together (took me long enough I know)

Some more of Armida's relationships summarized below the cut 💛

(I am so terribly bad at summaries Im so sorry- If I could write out the extent of all of their relationships I would- sadly I dont have the time..)

Alma: Her relationship with Alma pre movie is strained- mostly because she fears the older woman. Armida is riddled with anxiety and intrusive thoughts over what her mother in law may think of her, and often fears Alma thinks she got into the way of her daughter's relationship- or that she isn't a "real" madrigal. Basically.. it's a lot of assumptions on how Alma feels about her.. but they are not always truthful.

Armida also tends to disagree with Alma's ways. But between her being passive by nature and having a fear of speaking up, she never says anything. Rather she does her best to help by being there for other family members the best she can be.

Julieta: She was the first of the triplets that Armida became close to. Armida had visited her stand often, and at first Julieta thought the younger woman was accident prone like Agustín.. Over time it became clear that wasn't the case, but Armida was always super polite- despite lying about why she needed to be healed. She always made sure to thank Julieta - not just for healing her but for everything she does. After that it was surprisingly easy for the two of them to talk- and making friends with Julieta naturally got Armida talking to Bruno and Pepa. Although out of the triplets Armida is the least closest to Julieta now, she still feels incredibly safe with the woman. Armida is set trying to lessen Julietas work load. The only issue being- she really can't cook- all she can really do is help with preparation when needed. So instead she settles with going out to town when Julieta needs anything. It's not a lot, but it's something at the very least, and it's appreciated more than Armida will probably ever realize. 

Bruno: While obviously Armida is closest with Pepa and Félix, she also shares a really close bond with Bruno. The both of them being pretty bad insomniacs, they bonded a lot over sleepless nights- She'd tell him about the stars if the sky was clear enough and he'd talk about his rat telenovelas or sometimes about his gift- and she'd comfort him. She's a fan of his telenovelas- she loves the rats, and he's actually a really good writer. She offers to help make small costumes and even jokes about background music for suspense. All and all their relationship is very cute- I like to say they are like platonic soulmates. Obviously after Bruno disappears and comes back things aren't the same.. while he was in the walls some nights she'd sit and talk with his door instead, not knowing he was actually listening. Things are a bit awkward when he comes back- Armida having a lot of feelings about him "leaving" when he hurt his family so badly, but in the end she understands his motivation. 

Isabela: When Isabela was little, the girl loved getting her hands dirty. so naturally - Armida loved taking the girl out with her in her nature walks, because even at twenty seven she herself still loved to explore. It was something they bonded over, Dolores never really being as interested. But of course fell apart after Isa was pressured into being the golden child. Now they aren't nearly as close, but the both of them still remember digging for worms near Casita, or going looking for different types of plants in the jungle. Sometimes Isa still takes walks- taking the same paths they used to when she was little- when she knows no one is looking for her. It helps clear her head. Of course after the movie the two begin to grow close once more, Isa being quite excited to show off all the new plants to her supportive tía.

Dolores: I think the majority of the fandom has agreed that Dolores is a daddy's girl- and I completely agree. However she of course loves each of her parents. Mida specifically doted a lot on her when she was younger- having been their first child. She'd often sing to her- writing her own little songs for her daughter. After Dolores got her gift it was a nice thing for the young girl to focus on- her mother singing. Unfortunately getting her gift, like with many of the madrigals, forced Dolores to grow up too soon. She's often a bit protective over her mother, due to things she's heard over time. Armida mostly dislikes the fact that Dolores feels the need to protect her- as she should be the one protecting her.

Little bonus- Armida despises Mariano at first. She disliked him when he was with Isa, not because she knew Isa didn't actually want to marry him (though she has suspected maybe something was up, if she had known that straight up I don't imagine she'd be able to keep quiet about it.) She's- in general- overprotective when it comes to any of the kids dating. She does, however, come around to him. 

Luisa: With Luisa there isn't too much to say. Like Pepa and Félix, Armida treats each of Julieta's girls like her own kids,and Luisa is no exception. She used to read or sing to her each night as a kid, as she did with all of them. Each grandkid grew up with at least one song or story before bed, and sometimes even as adults or teenagers they still request it. But as with most of the kids, as Luisa grew up she stopped having time for things like that. Still Armida is always ready to sing or read to her once again- no matter how old she is.

Camilo: Camilo and Armida have very similar senses of humor at times, which means they make for quite the pair. The two of them sometimes pull little pranks around the house, nothing too much of course- after all she's still his mother and won't let him get away with everything, but he still gets away with more with her then he does with Félix or Pepa. Though being fifteen he doesn't spend as much time with his mom as he did at one point in his life- he still won't deny he loves her very much.

Mirabel: Pre movie, Armida would try her best to make Mirabel feel just as special as the rest of the family, but being busy and slightly stressed she could only do so much for the girl. Still, she did what she could when she could. She started to teach Mirabel embroidery after her failed gift ceremony to try to distract the little girl and make her feel better, she didn't expect her to pick up on it- but she's very proud of how far she's come. She's quite proud of the young woman in general.

Antonio: the baby of the family, he is absolutely Armida’s weakness. She has the hardest time saying no to him, much like others in the family. The fact that he looks so much like Félix really does not help- luckily Pepa and Félix are a bit better with saying no to him. She worried a lot about him, and his gift. Part of her had hoped that maybe he wouldn't get a gift, since she's seen how sometimes the gifts the family have can really feel more like curses, and he's only five- but luckily he gets a gift he really enjoys, one that she herself had wished for a lot as a child, one that doesn't seem like it will put immense amount of pressure on her baby boy. She enjoys learning what some of his animal friends are thinking, and reading them all to bed. (Sometimes she spoils some of his animals.. she can't help it)

[mamuzzy]

I only wanted to answer in reblog but it got so long i decided to make a separate post. But it had me thinking about media consumerism and how it could affect the open-mindedness for different shows soooo...

Here is a guide to...

HOW TO GET SOMEONE TRAPPED IN THE CLONE HELL

... not entirely a guide but more like an observation.

If we want to look at the problem with the fast-paced media consumer viewpoint, I think starting with the Bad Batch it's actually not a bad idea for someone who never watched Star Wars animated media before. It's sad but cartoons, animations can repulse people to watch things because they link them to child stories, something only a child would watch, also most of the people prefer live action instead of animated stuff. Especially if the said movie/series is quite old. cont. under the cut...

There could be a reason why people are not interested in clones

If a friend, family member, boyfriend/girlfriend/whatever only saw the movies and were not interested in TCW before, had not seen it as a child on TV, they will probably have prejudice against the clones. - They weren't the main characters in the movies therefor we have not seen them interacting that much with the main cast. - But even if you don't know star wars, you will probably know the clones for Order 66, white armored assholes who murdered the jedi aka good guys. And when the movies came out, inhibitor chips weren't in the picture. ---> this observations came while watching TCW with my dad who didn't like the clones because for this exact same reason: the clones basicly serve antagonist without question in a world where rules were set: jedi are good, sith are evil. -> I don't care that it is more complex that. It is what was shown. While he enjoyed the clone-centric episodes, he still stood at his point. They killed the jedi. End of story. - People have different interests :'(((((((

THE CLONE WARS 2003

Why do I recommend this first.

You can always say it's made by the same guy who made Samurai Jack. Strategically speaking Clone Wars 2003 would be a good starting point despite not being canon anymore because TCW is adapting some of the stories shown here. It recaps well what happened between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Also this is the first media where Asajj Ventress and Grievous were introduced, and where you can actually see Grievous in his prime, an absolutely terrifying foe who actually can mop the floor with the jedi. Lots of jedi were introduced here which later also appeared in TCW. Why is this important: Having familiarity with the characters shown in memorable scenes helps that you will recognise them later in other media. Like... Hey it's the jedi dude who stripped in the middle of a fight! Hey, aren't these the same guys who mutated an entire village out of fun who kidnapped Echo??? And so on. TIME: 25 x 5 minutes episodes full of action so it keeps up the interest, and... FORDO. 5 minutes of full clone badassery. While TCW emphasises on the theme that the clones are living, feeling human beings who can die exactly like a human, in CW2003 they are shown like really the badass super soldiers (especially the ARC Troopers) who were bred for war. How much time it takes an episode to watch is an important factor. Because someone who binge watches 10 x 1 hour long netflix series under one day without sleep, drink, eat is not a guarantee that they will be able to sit through 133 x 22 minutes episodes. The sheer numbers will scare them away, nobody has a time watch 133 episodes when you can watch like... 5 different series instead! STORY TELLING COMPARED TO TCW: CW2003 goes for mostly visual story telling instead of talking. It's suspenseful, it's scenic, it's extreme, sometimes silly (rocket-launcher clone in the elevator with zero fuck given is still my favorite) but it's guarantee that you will remember. TCW episodes are varying from episodic to two-to-four episode arcs, it has silly comic relief episodes, it has serious dark episodes, obligatory beach episode, obligatory valentine day episode, obligatory school festival episodes obligatory-just kidding lol , so the lenght of one story can be varying, so is the quality of them. So unless you have a hyperfixation, or are a completionist, or interested enough, the episodes - in psychologycal term -, won't urge you the continue. Because in one 22 minutes episode you got a complete story without cliffhanger it won't make you think, because all the questions asked in the beginning of the episode was answered at the end. It won't rush you to continue, because you know that probably the next episode will be about an entire different conflict. You can stop anytime without the feeling of "just one more episode, just one more episode". Also, it doesn't help that you know how the story will end if you saw Revenge of the Sith. The forementioned uglyness... It took me years to finish TCW. I hated when it came out back in 2009 despite loving Star Wars and CW2003 and only after a decade picked up my interest again, it still took me years to finish it anyway. Back then, I really hated how everything got quickly 3D in neglection of 2D. But can't say it's ugly because it's old, it was ugly when it came out! You really have to force yourself to accept how it looks until you are fine with it, because your eyes got used to it. Also some episodes were boring, not entertaining, I just lost interest and only came back later to continue and I even forgot what happened before. I can't remember most of the arc expect those I was interested in to rewatch it again in the last years. Yes, the quality will improve. Season 7 is beautiful. The visuals of Bad Batch is also beautiful. But between season 6 and season 7, years passed.

THE BAD BATCH

Why do I recommend TBB for someone who ain't got time for shit™:

- TBB season are 16 episodes long. It's friendlier than 133 number wise. - There are only a few main characters to follow. It's important because when there are a large cast of characters, it's easy to get confused who is who and with literal CLONES as main characters, it's hard to distinguish them from each other. I know I can distinguished them, because I'm so fixated on them that every single verbal and non-verbal gesture they make will shoot me into outer space. - The Batch uses popular character tropes, different looks, different voices and tones, so they are recognisable, therefore, you will remember them for the rest of the show. So it will be a chance that you will fall for at least one member of the batch. And then you'll be thirsting mess over one character and eventually you'll be staning all of them, and eventually you will seek out more contents,fanfics, fanarts, headcanons with them that will attract TCW characters or events as well that will lead further deep down into the clone-hell. --> You can start showing the Bad Batch arc TCW where Jesse, Kix, Rex, Cody is also present, so there are plenty of topic and characters to talk about later. Also... Who is this Echo guy, how did he end up here? You can show the Domino Squad episodes, Kamino arc, citadel arc... - This could be a double-edge sword, but TBB are shown resemblance to Delta Squad, Omega Squad and Null ARC troopers. You know Delta Squad from the Video Game, Republic Commando, while the Omegas and Nulls are the main characters of the book series with the same name by Karen Traviss. I say it's double edged, because without these fantastic characters we wouldn't have The Bad Batch, but also I can understand the fans who wanted the Deltas adapted properly instead. - In season 1, the "fillers" add to the story and the characters as well and they won't get episodic-amnesia. (they may have TCW amnesia though... yes, I look at you Echo.) - In Season 1, there is a clear conflict which shadow always lingers even if the plot of the episode does not directly touches it. - Returning characters from TCW like Rex and Gregor could make the consumer ask the questions: who are these guys and why are they important? Rex is cute, is there more episodes with him? Oh yes, my dear prey friend, there is a whole series about him. - I only say season 1 because I'm not entirely satisfied how season 2 were handled while I enjoyed the first one. My hyperfixation for TCW last year literally started with Bad Batch. The trailer was so misleadingly awesome I wanted to watch it before season 2 would come out, but I wanted to finish TCW first (finally!). Season 6 and Season 7 were basicly binge watch and it got me interested again in the previous seasons too.

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS 2008 (movie)

Why do I recommend this before TCW - It has Fox - Because sitting through a one-night movie is still easier than watching 133 episodes while maintaining the same quality of the show. - It has Fox - It shows the story how Ahsoka is introduced as Anakin's padawan the first time and we get a glimpse of their initial relationship and dynamic. - It has Fox - Basicly two arc in one movie but the introduced characters stay the same the entire time so you have time to get to know them, recognise them, and later you can remember them. - It has Fox - It has Fox.

TALES OF THE JEDI

It has that one episodes with the clones where they train Ahsoka. Possible questions could be asked: wtf happens at the END? Where is the rest of it? You can instantly show the last arc of season 7. Which would lead to another questions: wtf are the mandalorians, why Maul is here, wtf happening with Rex during O66, why is he hesitating to shoot Ahsoka? Now you can show the Chip conspiracy ARC with Fives! This Fives is a nice guy, is there more episodes of him? Oh boy~

And if they are interested in watching TCW with you..

- Watching together as spending time together usually helps. I think discord also has a function where you can stream movies to others. - You don't have to watch it in the exact order the episodes came out - Show arcs. There are lot of clone centric arcs. I literally collected all the episodes where Echo and Fives are present. --> Dad remembered Echo the whole time and he felt sorry for him. I showed the episodes in such order that his story could be followed easely. ------------- I know. I get it. Every episode is awesome. Every character is awesome. They are. They are all blorbos. They are our blorbos.

[sarnai4]

Movie Marathon

Here are some modern headcanons I have for Dagur when he's watching movies/his reactions afterwards.

Action films: He's memorizing all the best stunts so that he can try them immediately once the movie has ended. If one of these includes a fight scene, he's also planning which one of his friends he's going to have join him in this (probably Snotlout because Hiccup would die).

Comedies: He does better with dark comedies because he always laughs at the wrong spots for the regular ones. They have a sad moment and he's still thinking it's a joke, then wonders why everyone is giving him weird looks. At least with the dark comedies, he's supposed to laugh at someone dying.

Romance: Constantly says something inappropriate so that Astrid and Hiccup are embarrassed. The scene wasn't even intimate, but all his comments and winking would make you think otherwise. The only time he blushes too is when he and Mala are brought up, then he gets a bit bashful, but he also keeps kissing her during the smooching scenes.

Adventure: Will not stop asking Hiccup to go on the same adventure with him as the characters had. The puppy dog eyes don't go away until Hiccup finally agrees, then he gets a giant hug.

Film noir/mystery: Trusts no one, especially the main character. He's convinced the killer is secretly the hero and that the MC is just giving their side of the story to deliberately throw everyone off their trail. He's extra paranoid towards everybody for a minimum of 3 days. Mala's trying to let him know that their friends are not out to get him.

Drama: Finally knows when the sad moments aren't supposed to be laughed at. So, he tears up instead while hugging a pillow. Snotlout sees this as a cue that he can be watery-eyed too without being poked fun at. Now, they're both crying on the sofa because the main character just expressed how much love is had for someone else right before that second person dies.

Western and pirate: Combine action with adventure. This is why Hiccup's on a horse with a cowboy hat and why Snotlout is trying to not be forced to walk the plank.

Suspense/thriller: You thought he was paranoid before with the mystery films? He's not so much suspicious of the others as he is jumpy. This was probably the quietest he's ever been when watching something because he's waiting for that moment when everything goes wrong. The twins definitely take advantage of the jumpiness later, but they might get tackled in retaliation.

True stories: Sits by Fishlegs so that he can fact check that what the movie is saying really is true. They're whispering just about the entire time because Fishy is having as much fun talking about what he knows as Dagur is having learning about it. When the movie ends, they will proceed to geek out about the new information like it's a Gronckle until someone stops them.

Fantasy: Lots of "oohs" if there are impressive visuals. This genre gets his mind going with all the potential creativity, so he becomes disappointed if what actually happens in the story isn't as inventive as what he thought of. He also always thinks the heroes should be more ruthless than they are.

Musicals: Is making a mental note of the best songs so that he can ask Heather to sing them. He'll sing his request until she gives in. Some form of dance/movement is happening during the numbers too. If he's trying to not disturb the others, he's probably bouncing in the seat.

Science fiction: Is torn between being a skeptic and suspending his disbelief. He both scoffs at the overly unrealistic parts, then is impressed by how the characters managed to pull something off without dying. This time, Hiccup is his fact checker if the movie involves some type of engineering.

Horror: He's taking notes. Who let him watch one of these? There will be no stopping him now. He's determined to be even better than the scares he saw in the movie (according to him, they weren't scary and he thought each kill was funny). At least the next week is spent with everyone around him on edge because they don't know when there's going to be a pretend masked slasher coming for them. It's not even Halloween, but it is for them. Mala's not safe either. After Dagur puts a probably harmless snake in their bed, she makes him sleep on the sofa until he's out of his horror phase.

Every movie: Has a big container of some snack. Don't reach in without asking because he will bite off your hand not be happy. He's never on the edge seat because he wants to be able to hug people on both sides. He tries to not talk for the entire thing, but he will absolutely give the characters advice with Snotlout. Expect an in-depth discussion afterwards.

(Update) Decided to write this for whatever reason, so the first part is now on Ao3 and Fanfiction.net under "Movie Marathon" too.

[killershrike]

I want to say to all writers or would be writers; we gotta stop comparing ourselves to other authors. Take inspiration, absolutely!!! I have taken sooo much inspiration from media in my fic Dark Suspension. Not just from books, movies, tv shows, songs, paintings, everything. I think it's absolutely so important to use the things that inspire you to create and not be afraid of "ripping off." Obviously if you copy and paste a whole paragraph and just change the names then maybe rework it a bit. But, personally, I see absolutely no problem in having direct inspirations. Yes I have a lot of original lines and things, but I also have reworked some of my favorite moments and lines into the story.

Two examples from me specifically:

• Cersei Lannister and Margaery Tyrell speaking together. "Gone, a gentle word, why not say slaughtered?" reworked into So-yin saying "Force, a gentle world, why not say slaughtered?" When Ghost tells her about "forcing" Bad Bloods to give up info.

• In The Terrfier 2 Art the Clown brutalized a victim and two of the ways is by snapping the victim's arm in half and tearing it off her, and another way is by tearing her hand apart so it rips down the middle. This was reworked into Ghost, tearing an arm off a corpse and snapping it in half to create a "knife" to throw at someone escaping. And then directly tearing a man's hand apart so it rips down the middle.

Someone could argue this isn't Changed enough, not Original enough, I disagree. This is where it comes to opinion and where I hope to help me and other writers or potential writers to feel some ease. I've been seeing a lot of people saying they're too scared to post their fics cause of people saying things like "copying too much," "too much description," and "too much dialogue." And really, at the end of the day, everyone is wrong. Even I am.

Art has always been subjective, but I feel like writing can be some of the most subjective of all. One person can read Homer's Odyssey, a literal world renowned classic, and say it's boring. Someone can read The Lord Of The Rings books and say they're stupid, even though it's arguably the most popular book series to date.

No matter who you are or how "good" or "bad" your work is, there will always be people who either love it or hate it or don't care. We have got to stop comparing ourselves and holding ourselves back from sharing the things we want to because of other people's stupid little "writing rules." Those dont exist.

You know what the only rule of writing is? You gotta write. To be a writer, you have to put words down somewhere. That's it. That's all. Whether it's me, you, or Stephen fucking King. We're all just silly Little Guys with thoughts in our head that we put down and share with other people because they mean something to us. Just because you aren't a published author and Stephen King is doesn't mean you're a worse writer, or shouldn't bother posting your stuff. He just had the opportunity, luck, or possibly both, to end up in a position as a famous and published author.

But even he didn't start that way. So many authors don't put their stories out as a way to get famous or attention, I definitely didn't. I use my story as a way to work through my own pain and hopefully come up with some fun and interesting ideas along away. I'm not saying one way is right, go for that bag if you want! Or just post your story for fun! Just don't feel like you can't post your writing or people will hate it or won't read it because these stupid "rules." Someone will read it. Even just one person. And you never know, maybe that one person could turn out to become a friend!

I've found so much happiness by posting my story and characters. Yes, I've received some hate, but the love and support I've gotten so outweigh that. Sometimes, I get caught up in the negative and the anxiety, but overall, I don't regret posting my writing and will continue to do so. I hope you can too!

[watching-pictures-move]

Viddying the Nasties | Anthropophagus (D'Amato, 1980)

I decided to revisit this upon learning of Tisa Farrow's passing. Farrow gets some cute moments with her male co-stars and makes for a pretty appealing lead, so despite some of the horrible things that happen, this is a nice movie to remember her by. While these classic Italian splatter movies aren't necessarily known to be actors' showcases, you watch enough of them, and see the same actors pop up time and time again, and in a way they become your friends. So along with Farrow, it was nice to spend some time again with some other familiar faces.

Like Zora Kerova as an erratic psychic, although her inability to predict anything specific brings to mind a piece of wisdom from the great Jean-Claude Van Damme: “If you phone a psychic and she doesn't answer the phone before it rings, hang up.” And Serena Grandi, who has nothing to do but be very pregnant, although as pregnant performances in genre movies go, she ranks below Tisa's sister Mia in Rosemary's Baby and Chen Ping in The Vengeful Beauty, who would wince and hold her belly in between fight scenes. But out of the protagonists, I think the best used is Margaret Mazzantini, who is great at looking sc-sc-scared!!! with her appealingly wide eyes anytime she senses the monster is near from the scent of blood. Although when we first meet her, she leaps out a-stabbin' from a barrel full of blood, which I would assume would dull her senses somewhat. This is right after a cute little cat leaps onto a piano.

And most importantly, there's George Eastman as the titular monster. Like seemingly many of his movies, he plays a disgusting freak, but this time it's not just in the contents of his heart, he looks like one too. When I first saw this, I hadn't seen any of his other movies previously, so I kind of assumed that this is what he'd actually looked like. I mean, not the awful complexion, I knew that was makeup. But I definitely assumed he had the same hairline. Luckily there are family photos and a flashback that along with creating and then dispelling the central mystery, hold some educational value for those similarly unfamiliar with Eastman outside of this one movie. When I first watched this, I remember finding the initial reveal, which comes about halfway into the movie, a little lame. I'm not gonna pretend that's not still the case, but I do appreciate that Joe D'Amato quickly realizes his mistake and tries to correct for it by pushing Eastman back into the shadows, and during such scenes, I can appreciate this would have played great on a murky VHS in which you could barely make him out as he skulks around, a-stabbin' and a-bitin' and doing all the other horrible things he does. But for the rest of the movie, I can appreciate how well this plays in the relatively pristine forms it's now easily available in, as D'Amato strengths as a cinematographer are readily evident.

I was pleasantly surprised during my initial viewing how low key this was, and appreciated its commitment to building suspense by withholding the gore gags. Like I said, you don't even get to see the monster until halfway into the movie, and the scenes the movie is best known for, two outrageously gnarly scenes of violence, come within the last third or so. I can understand why those expecting a nonstop gorefest might be disappointed, but I like the way this movie almost lulls you to sleep with its pleasant scenery, the blindingly white beaches and buildings of the coastal village during the day, the darkened corridors and catacombs lit only by candles or torches. (Anyone like me who likes creepy corridor scenes will get a kick out of this.) The vacation vibes here are strong. Never mind the heavy breathing during the shots where the characters may or may not be getting spied on from a distance. What could go wrong?

And when you've dozed off, BAM! He hits you with a horrific gore scene. Within the first few minutes, we get some underwater bloodletting and some classic D'Amato face trauma. And of course there are those two all-timer scenes I mentioned, one unbelievably mean-spirited gag where Eastman, uh, gets the munchies for a California cheeseburger (D'Amato used a skinned rabbit covered in blood), and an equally outrageous final scene where Eastman get the munchies for, uh, himself. There's even some comic relief in the form of Eastman rolling off a rooftop after getting hit in the leg with a pickaxe like in a slapstick comedy. Is it intentional? Who cares?

As I'm gotten somewhat better versed in D'Amato's work, this now gives me some of the same queasy vibes as his Caribbean porno horrors, but is probably a more palatable watch. One, you don't get the same nauseating sense of heat and exhaustion as the vacation buildup is at least pleasant on the surface. Two, without the hardcore scenes, this runs at a more digestible hour and a half instead of the brutal two hour runtime of some of those. Three, without the hardcore scenes, you don't have to experience the raw, unmitigated horror of Mark Shannon's suspiciously textured balls in closeup. The only thing warty here is Eastman's monster makeup. Which I guess makes it a comparatively less scary movie. But otherwise it's a more enjoyable one.

[tame-a-messenger]

💙Smoshblr December Asks Day 2💛

What are your top 3 favourite movies?

And how easily would your friends (or ppl you work with) be able to guess it was you, based on them?

Good lord is this hard.

I'm a big movie and show person (not a film buff though, I just really enjoy them :)) so this is hard to nail down. These are movies that when I watched them they surprised me with how good/fun they were, and that I really just had a good time with! (you know minus all the murder? What can I say I like thrillers)

Wanted (2008)

The Goonies (1985)

Battle Royal (2000)

Midnight (2021)

Scream (1996-2023)

I will say my number 1 is probably not the best movie objectively- I just had a BLAST watching it for the first time. I went into thinking it was gonna be a normal action movie and about 10mins in I realized "Wait.. this is gonna be fun?" not that action movies aren't fun, but if you've seen the movie I think you know what I'm talking about. I'd recommend anybody that likes James McAvoy to watch it!

The Goonies is just a movie that is like the cornerstone of "80's kid adventure!" at least for me. A movie a could watch the rest of my life and still have fun.

Battle Royal.. A CRAZY FUCKING MOVIE. I don't even really wanna say anything about it, other then WATCH IT, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT (disclaimer- a lot of blood, and other crazy shit) It was the inspiration for A LOT of movies.

Ooooh Midnight. A very good thriller/chase movie. Another movie that I was laughing my ass off even though that's probably not what the director intended lol. This is the first one I feel fine giving a bit of a description. ripped off google-> A young deaf woman and her mother battle with a serial killer after they accidentally interrupt one of his kills. A deadly game of cat-and-mouse plays out across the city as the women try to stay one step ahead of their pursuer. This movie is really good by itself but I kept getting caught off guard at how much ass the guy was hauling. Like man is RUNNING. Anyway super great suspenseful thriller movie with a fun ending!

I put the whole Scream franchise because it was pretty much the first "horror" movie I was allowed to watch that I also really happened to like! Classic "Who dunnit" mystery! Who wouldn't like it? And I guess I just really like chase scenes in my thriller/suspense movies lol. who does it better then Scream?

Writing this and having to decide "what ARE my favorite movies?" has made me realize, I really like suspense thrillers.. with good chase scenes.. Don't get me wrong these are probably my top movies but its interesting they all have similar themes. I have plenty of movies I like that are VERY different than these^ but honestly? these really are my favorite movies, at least that come to the top of the stack.

That being said I have a plethora of other movies that are very near and dear to me :)

I'd recommend any of the movies above. they really are all a lot of fun, and if you do end up watching any or have watched any I'd love to hear about it!

Also, no nobody would probably guess these lol, most of them are kind of off the beaten path, and I don't think you'd guess I like suspense/thrillers as much as I apparently do considering how bubbly I am irl lmao

[littleeyesofpallas]

When I was little I had recurring nightmares about people breaking in to my house and I would have to keep myself hidden but also things would happen where I'd be unable to stop my parents or sometimes my pets(?) from attracting the attention of the intruders and being killed as a result. So I'd have to sit like under my bed or in my closet or behind the shower curtain or something, watching the intruder(s) hiding from my parents or my dog, and feel compelled to watch in silence as their paths collide and play out, sometimes in an actual attack or sometimes just with the implicit threat of one.

When I first played the (frankly really unremarkable) indie horror game Tattletale, I thought the premise would be something very different. The actual premise is that you play hide and seek with a furby thing as it tries to kill you and it happens to be Christmas eve. But initially I thought it was going to be about trying not to wake up mom and dad because you were just as afraid of getting in trouble for peaking at your present as you were afraid of the eerily intelligent and autonomous toy being a threat to both you and to your parents if you were to get them involved in it's creepy game or murder hide and seek.

One of my favorite lesser known Alfred Hitchcock movies is Shadow of Doubt, in which a young woman finds out that her visiting uncle whom she shares a kind of special kinship with is actually a notorious serial killer at large. But when she discovers this fact, that fact is almost immediately discovered by her uncle. So she spends the bulk of the movie trying to find some way to alert police without letting her uncle know she's done so, because of the threat that he'll kill her mother in retaliation otherwise.

(The movie Stoker is actually a fun kind of homage to this movie where the twist is that the thriller encounter with her murder uncle actually awakens the serial killer in the girl as well)

There is also a single volume manga by famous Mangaka Fukumoto Nobuyuki(creator of Kaiji and Akagi, among other hit series) and Kawaguchi Kaiji(artist of Zipang and Silent Service among others...) Where two friends get lost in blizzard on a hiking trip and as they begin to think they'll die on the mountain one confesses out of guilt that he murdered a woman on the same mountain years ago... And then they find shelter, and the protagonist becomes paranoid that the murderer will try to kill him to keep his secret before the blizzard lets up. In the early stages of the story in particular he has to try to either escape or radio for help or kill the murderer himself without alerting him, all while both he and the reader aren't entirely sure the murderer actually intends to hurt him or not. It has some wild twists and turns (frankly maybe one too many) but it's still a great psychological thriller and one of my favorite short manga.

Anyway point being that inbetween these things I've got this nebulous halfformed narrative thread in my brain that I come back to sometimes about hidden killers knowing you know they're killers, and having to deal with their presence in secret from other people. I've always wanted to try my hand at writing a story that falls into this kind of structure but I feel like I'm just not suited to craft these kinds of delicate suspenseful logic puzzles where the rules of the arrangement make sense and are consistent and have consequences that are enticingly threatening.

In particular the halfbaked premise I've always sat on was to have a kind of witchhunt setting (but which would work better, medieval Europe or colonial America?) Where you unwittingly give shelter to a stranger who is being chased by witch hunters, and then you have to try to determine whether or not she's a witch without letting her know you suspect her for being a witch, and whether she's a real witch or not, you then move on to trying to alert the witch hunters while knowing she suspects you of knowing and trying to snitch on her. And the horror and suspense of being watched and the sort of reverse double blind of knowing she knows you know but still having to play dumb just in case you're actually wrong, but then also having to look her in the eye and lie to her, knowing she knows you're lying while you do it.

It's got a kind of a Death Note Light -v- L appeal to it too,(or early Promised Neverland) where there's room to expand on this kind of convoluted 4D chess mind game going on between two people, but also between the weird hypothetical of what the other could be almost more than what they actually are, if that makes any sense(?). Like, beyond the reality of the singular chain of events that make the story, you're basically having to manage two different plots; One is where the adversary knows everything and the management of how they'll act based on that in the worst case scenario, but the other is where they actually don't know yet and how you have to act to keep them from finding out.

Does that all make sense? But then add to that a vague threat of the supernatural. Like, you still don't know if she is actually a witch, or if the real threat is just that if being implicated in the witchhunt, and if she if IS, then there is the wildcard of not knowing what she can do with that to affect you or others.

To add yet more needless complexity, if I wanted to expand or really milk the premise I could play it like a classic Imposter Game (ya know like Mafia or Werewolf, or yeah I guess Among us gets a mention...) And make part of the plot that the witch hunters arrive announcing they've been chasing TWO people, and you have to manage sussing out who the second witch, or witch collaborator, in the cast of characters is while trying not to be incriminated as them yourself.

Worst part though is that even if I was better at constructing this sort of plot AND had the writing skill to follow through on it, Id still have to wrestle with how to end the whole thing. Problem being that these types of stories all thrive in the uncertainty of the big maybes and ehat-ifs; actually confirming threats and resolving the plot threads are almost always less interesting than the build up

I keep phrasing this in the second person because even though my loose wrestling with the idea kind of defaults to just novel prose, a part of me wants it to be something more like a VN or a walking sim type interactive story? But god knows trying to nail down any of these ideas AND leave it open to player choice is a deathtrap rabbithole to fall down.

Anyway I dunno what the point of this was other than just outlining the thought because its there floating around my head again. Its like 3am and I can't sleep and in that funky half lucid brain space where connections are sorta forming on their own and I feel like it helps to just get them out onto something. Like I'm dream journaling while awake?

[barbiegirldream]

I understand your thoughts on Barbie now. It truly did not trust the audience to understand the message, despite it being mostly for adults. Like I swear the only thing out of the mums mouth was monologues about how hard it is to be a woman (forgetting the fact that she's Latina and would also be a struggle?)

i also saw takes that the mom should have been single and it was from like hardcore feminists some red terf urls popping up and their logic was if she's so depressed and lonely and struggling with her daughter she should be single cause if she's with a man that shouldn't happen???? like barbieheimer can pat itself on the back for bringing truly the most reductive and useless social politics such as "being a woman sucks but you just gotta live with it nothing to be done" and "I'm not quite sure what a 'jew' is but the imperial japanese aren't white so they're the victims" to the forefront of the culture war

not even to start with how the narration tries to cheekily acknowledge crits of Barbie as if that will give the movie the pass but by bringing those critiques into the movie it shatters the suspension of disbelief. Cause we know Margot Robbie looks like a traditional Babrie and that she's one of the most beautiful women alive. But when in your movie about how anyone can feel ugly because of society you rush to quip this doesn't really work with Margot Robbie you've already othered her and then Barbie from 'real women' once more.

Also also that caricature of a blue-haired teen tongue in cheek aren't the youth so dramatic was one of the funniest in the movie. But her saying "white savior Barbie" now centers race in a movie that up until then was pretending there was a lack of racism. But now that they've brought it up we're left standing with yeah President Barbie was Black but everyone in the real world they met in power was white so... to what extent to we have sisterhood over race solidarity <- one of the longest debates in feminism I didn't expect Barbie to even try to cover this nor would I want a white director to give it a shot with so few woc in the room. But just to say if you're going to make a movie absent of race as a sociopolitical debate alongside feminism then just don't bring up race.

The movie already alienates terfs WOOO and is not meant I don't think for feminist critiques even to the depth I've laid out in a three-paragraph tumblr post. It should just be an epic and fun movie which I had a great time I'm just anti-narration as a storytelling medium unless you Really need expositional storytelling cause there's no time and I prefer it done by the main character. A fourth wall breaking omniscient narration pov is like when you lean over to your friend during the movie and crack a joke or tell them what they missed in the bathroom. it doesn't need to be in the movie we're all watching the movie.

[itgetsrad]

christmas themed horror i've watched so far

12/1 All The Creatures Were Stirring - a low budget anthology that is pretty weird, kind of interesting but i would say is a pass

12/2 The Children - a really wild movie where kids get sick and start murdering. there's a lot going on & a 2000s emo teen girl. not great but definitely worth a watch To All A Good Night - pretty standard 80s slasher. girls stay at the dorm over xmas break, boys show up to party™, masked killer shows up to avenge the wrongs of the past, etc. think it's set in Cali so other than the xmas tree, there really aren't christmas vibes. worth a watch but i won't be adding it to my yearly viewing list

12/3 The Dorm That Dripped Blood - another standard 80s slasher with a very similar plot to To All A Good Night. some college kids stay behind to clear out a dorm over xmas break. killers. this one was worse and there's not even a christmas tree. there was a pride flag hanging in the dorm office, that seemed pretty cool for 1983

Anna & The Apocalypse - i like this. it was fun. a christmas, zombie musical so there's a lot going on & not all of it is totally successful but it's fun enough to add to the list for December watching

Wind Chill - this one was pretty good. a girl takes a ride share with a guy from college to home for xmas, they get stranded in a snow storm & creepy ensues. really interesting because there's kind of a red herring, plot-wise, and then a twist that actually makes the movie more interesting than you would assume. i would call it more 'winter horror' because there's a lot of "we might freeze to death" but there are some nods to xmas

Body - a low budget movie that never really feels low budget. this is much more suspense/thriller than horror but it was really good. 3 friends go to one of their rich uncle's mansion to hang but that's not the whole story and this leads to the titular body & them dealing with it. it's not super strong on the xmas vibes but still really good